When It's Darkest, Men See Stars
by AnGeLs and DaEmOns
Summary: Follow's my OC, Clary, her sister Jamie, and the rest of the group after leaving the farm in season 2! Stars and ends in season 3! Shit summary, but I hope you enjoy :)
1. Seed

**Ello guys! Well, I promised you I'd keep posting so here's the first chapter of the second book in my Daryl/OC series! I hope you enjoy it! :D**

**With love, **

**AnGeLs and DaEmOnS xx**

Clary's POV

Winter. Before all this I used associate winter with ice-skating, or Christmas, or even New Years. Winter. Now all I associated it with was bad things. The cold weather, the barely sustainable rations, hiding in the shadows, sickness, praying you find somewhere safe to stay before nightfall…winter.

Thank goodness spring was approaching. It was probably early April. The weather would be warming up, and animals would be easier to hunt. But could we actually find a place that was safe enough to hole up for the long run? Even with spring approaching, there couldn't be that much hope for us, right?

I stumbled over a root as we trekked through the woods to this small house. I felt so weak, but I had to push through. We hadn't had proper food in a while and barely any sleep. We were at the end of our rope.

"Clary, you alright?" Carol asked, placing a hand on my arm.

I smiled at her concern. "Yeah. Just tired."

"We all are." She said sympathetically.

The guys had gone ahead and checked the place out, cleared out all the walkers. I entered the building after Lori, Jamie on my heels.

"It looks safe enough." I mumbled to no one in particular.

"Yeah, until it isn't." Jamie replied. Guess she'd heard me.

"Don't think like that. Remember, we've made it this far."

Jamie just shrugged and went to find Carl I assume.

I sighed. Even in a zombie apocalypse I had to deal with a teenager.

But hay, I couldn't complain. She was my family, and been through hell like I had.

After eating a small portion of owl that Daryl had killed and some hash that Carl found, I nearly drifted off to sleep on the patch of floor Jamie, Daryl, and I claimed. Jamie was over with Beth and Carl. Lori was having Hershel check the baby, and T-Dog was on watch duty. Everything was calm.

Until hell started to break lose.

"Shit. We got company guys!" T-Dog warned us, pointing outside.

About a dozen or more geeks were heading towards us. Shit.

"Go." Rick commanded.

We all knew what to do since we'd been running all winter. Herds were everywhere. Guess they were coming out of the city to find food.

I ran out, backing Maggie and Glenn up as we took down a few of the walkers who were blocking us from getting to the cars.

Blood and innards covered my hands and my baseball bat.

As soon as a path was cleared we ran. Rick, Lori, Hershel, Carl, and Jamie piled into Rick's Cherokee while Glenn, Maggie, Carol, T-Dog, and I climbed into the explorer. Daryl led us on his bike.

"We just can't catch a break can we?" I asked sardonically.

Carol touched my arm.

"Don't worry. Rick, Daryl, and my dad will find us some place safe." Maggie reassured me.

I half smiled and stared at the window while we rambled down the road.

* * *

Going by the sun, I guess we finally stopped for a regroup sometime after noon. I climbed out of the suffocating car and stretched my legs.

Rick, Daryl, and a few of the others gathered around the hood of the Cherokee, holding a map.

"It seems like we've been running in circles all winter." T-Dog voiced.

I'd been thinking the same thing too.

"I know. I know. But we gotta just keep pushing." Rick said, trying to keep calm.

I walked towards the vehicle. Daryl was loading his crossbow.

"Ya guys found a spot yet or you going in circles talking about it?" I asked, leaning against the grill.

"Not yet. We're working on it." Rick continued.

"Rick, you wanna go hunt? That owl didn't exactly hit the spot." Daryl asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Rick stated, grabbing his gun.

Daryl started ahead, but on impulse I grabbed Rick's arm.

"Keep him safe, please." I whispered.

"I'll look out for him, don't worry. But he's tough like that. He can handle himself."

"Thank you."

I watched Rick tail Daryl into the woods. I sent up a silent prayer that both of them would come back safe, possibly with food, and I went to help T-Dog gather water.

"Jamie, I'm helping T okay? Stay near the cars and I'll be back." I told her. She nodded and walked to where Glenn was. He seemed to be working on a vehicle.

Daryl's POV

Rick took a while to catch up with me. Dunno why though. We were wasting daylight!

"What took you so long?" I asked.

"Had a chat with your girlfriend. Wanted me to make sure you were safe."

I smirked. "She ain't my girlfriend."

"I think it's a little late to deny that. You've been together, what; six months?"

"Somethin' like that." I muttered. Blush started creeping into my cheeks.

"I see the way you look at her. And Jamie. It's the way I used to look at Lori and Carl." He said, his voice dropping to a mumble.

I kept silent for a while. I didn't like Rick trying to get in my head, and I really didn't like him labeling Clary and me. We were together and that was it. Other than that, I didn't even know what we were. I was still trying to figure this shit out.

Then I happened to remember finding Carl out on his own one night during the winter. He'd been trying to scout the area for possible sources of food and supplies. He didn't get very far, but he sure was determined. All he wanted was to make his old man proud.

"You remember that time I took Carl out hunting?" I asked. Guess I needed to bring this up. I knew what the kid was feeling.

"Yeah I remember."

"I didn't actually take him. I found him. He went out on his own. Wanted to help the group."

"You're telling me he just took off?" Rick asked, stopping. We'd been following some sort of train tracks for a while.

"Yep. Didn't care about the walkers or nothing. Just wanted to help the group."

Rick didn't speak.

"For the record, you're not a shitty dad. I can see you're trying to do all right by Carl. He wants to make you proud, but don't know how."

I guess Rick was thinking things over till we stopped again. I thought I'd spotted a rabbit in the brushes.

Rick was looking up and stared. I looked too and saw what he saw. A prison. Damn.

"That's a damn shame." We'd be lucky to catch anything with this damn place around. Walkers were everywhere.

"Let's head back."

Rick just continued staring. "It's perfect."

Huh?

Clary's POV

Rick came charging back to the road where we were. Daryl was hot on his heels. Shit did something bad happen? Did they find ANOTHER herd?

"Rick, what's wrong?" Glenn asked.

Everyone gathered around him. I helped T-Dog finish gathering the water. Daryl walked over to us.

I threw my arms around him; thankful he'd been safe. "What'd you guys find?"

He sighed. "Overrun prison. Rick thinks he can make it secure."

"You don't think so?" I asked.

"I trust Rick. He's done alright. I'll back him if he decides it's best for the group."

"Then I back both of you. Who knows, maybe for once we'll have a pot to piss in." I said, leaning my head on his shoulder as we stared at Rick, trying to convince the rest of the group that the prison would be the best place to make a stand.

The prison actually wasn't that far from the road. And it looked fairly strong. Fences were up and the actual building was solid concrete and steel. Maybe there was hope.

But there were obstacles.

We had to kill about two-dozen walkers in the yard, without alerting the walkers from inside the prison courtyard. If we could do this, we'd be safe; at least for now.

Jamie stood beside me at the fences as we stabbed, shot, and punctured the skulls of the undead fucks that ruined our lives. She was getting to be a well-trained survivor. I couldn't be prouder.

* * *

By the time we'd finished burning the bodies, it was close to nighttime. We gathered up our possessions and built a campfire. It felt really safe here, even if we were still outdoors.

Rick didn't eat dinner. Instead he kept circling the fence, trying to find a weak spot.

"Don't worry. He's been circling the fences three times. If there was a weak spot, he would have found it by now." Hershel said to me, as well as the rest of the group.

I then dismissed myself from the group to find Daryl. Last I heard he was helping Carol clear out the cellar.

And as I suspected, they were there.

"Hay guys, you want some food? There are a few leftovers." I asked.

"No, I'm good, but thanks Clary." Carol said as she climbed out of the cellar.

I then noticed her rubbing her shoulder in discomfort.

"What's wrong?" Daryl and I asked at the same time. I looked at him and blushed a bit.

"Kickback from the rifle. Not quite used to it yet." She said, trying to stretch it out.

"Daryl gives great massages. It'll help lessen the pain." I said. And it was true. On more than one occasion I had to enlist Daryl's hands to ease the pain in my back and shoulders from straining them too much.

"Come 'ere." He said as he tossed his crossbow over his shoulder. Carol went to him and he massaged her shoulder. I could tell it was helping.

"Thank you Daryl." Carol said as she went to leave. She then turned to me. "Night Clary."

"Night." I told her as I stepped toward Daryl.

"You wanna head back? It's getting late and you look exhausted."

"Sounds bout right." He said, taking my hand.

We walked in silence for the most part, and told everyone we were going to bed. I yawned and realized how tired I really was.

In the tent we'd set up, Daryl and I got changed. I dressed in a large flannel that was my dad's and some basketball shorts that were a friend of mine's. Daryl stuck to stripping down to his boxers.

Jamie had a smaller tent set up beside ours, and heard the rustling of the flap as she went in.

I grabbed my walkie talkie and used it.

"Night kid. I love you." I told her.

Within a few seconds, she responded.

"Love you too. Night Clary. Night Daryl."

I smiled and placed the device back in my bag.

Daryl was already lying in the sleeping bag when I crawled in and turned off the lantern.

"What do you think Rick wants to do tomorrow?" I randomly asked. Our leader had mentioned something about clearing the rest of the prison out, but…how?

"Dunno. Best bet would be to take out the walkers in the front part, then make our way inside."

"But the inside's overrun. We'd have to take out a WHOLE prison, wouldn't we?"

"Not if we can close off a cellblock from the rest of the place. Then we can pick 'em off one by one."

"I'll have your back." I whispered.

"Never doubted it."

"Night, Daryl." I sighed as I closed my eyes and prayed. I don't even know why I did it anymore. Ritual? Habit? True faith? Who knows?

"Night." He whispered, placing a quick kiss to my forehead before both of us drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning I woke up early. I donned an old tank top and some faded jeans before throwing on my boots. My feet protested wearing them, but I had to. Today we were taking out the fucks inside the prison. Who knows what could happen. I needed to be prepared.

Quietly, I walked out and went in to Jamie's tent to check on her. She'd been fighting allergies and didn't feel too good. Poor thing just had to tough it out. I did and she could too.

"Be ready when we finish clearing the place out, okay? Don't want to attract any unwanted attention." I told her as she put her baseball cap on.

"Okay, but why can't I come? I'm a hell of a shot and you know it!"

"Because I can't lose you. When you've had a bit more experience I'll let you, okay? The next run I go on, I'll take you with me."

"Promise?" She asked, looking skeptical.

"Promise. Now come here." I said, opening my arms for a hug. "When did you start growing up so much?"

"Clary? You ready?" Daryl called from outside.

"Coming!" I answered.

Both Jamie and I climbed out of her tent, out into the already warm day.

"Rick ready?" I asked.

"Yep, just waiting on us."

He then turned to Jamie. "Be good kid. Look after the others, we're counting on ya."

I smiled. He was warming up to Jamie a lot. She loved him like a father almost.

"Stay in formation. Don't break ranks!" Rick commanded as he unlatched the lock he'd placed on the fence that led into the courtyard.

We all went in and started taking the dead out one by one. Shit this was cray!

"Maggie!" I screamed as she was nearly attacked. I ran after her, both of us broke ranks, but that didn't matter. I had to help her get back in formation.

We took out the some bitches and followed Rick inside.

It was quiet, but we knew better than to go shouting and screaming. Cautiously, we searched the cellblock, which I found out was named "C". If my knowledge of the justice system was correct, cellblock A-C only housed the general population. Cellblock D was where they held the worst criminals; rapists, child molesters, murderers etc. If there were any prisoners who were alive, then we'd know how bad they were based on which block they came from.

But we never found anyone alive. All was quiet. Too quiet. There weren't even that many walkers.

"Guess we can go get the others?" I asked Rick. "It looks clear."

"You, Maggie, Glenn and Carl help bring the others and the supplies in. The rest of us will clear out the bodies." Rick decided.

We all nodded and headed outside. Everyone was waiting for us.

Jamie pushed past Beth and Carol, running straight to me.

"Hay easy now, you'll knock me over." I teased.

She hugged me and walked back with us.

"Is it safe in there?" Carol asked.

"It is now. Cleared out a cellblock. Rick and the others are cleaning it up a bit." I amended. Didn't want them to know that there were rotting bodies in the places they were about to sleep.

"Baby go help Carl. I'm gonna help Lori." I told Jamie. She nodded and walked off.

"You gonna make it?" I asked the brunette. She chuckled a bit as she cradled her large stomach.

"We have to don't we?" She said, staring at the building.

I nodded. "You know the baby's gonna be okay, right? We have Hershel, and a safe place for you to deliver. Everything's gonna be okay."

"You believe that? So many things could go wrong, it's a good chance I could die."

"Yeah, but don't think about it. I know it is a possibility, and you should be prepared for the worst, but don't keep thinking so negatively about it. If you keep on, the bad situations you're expecting will happen, no questions asked. Just have faith and keep a PMA." I said, lugging our things inside.

Lori just looked at me, puzzled. "PMA?"

"Positive Mental Attitude. Something I had to learn as a kid." I trailed off, looking around the place.

I placed Lori's bag by the cell she chose.

"You're doing the best you can. You made shitty choices, but no one blames you."

"Rick does. And so does Carl."

"Nope. Why else would he be doing everything he can to keep you guys safe?" I asked.

She just stared at the wall of the cell as she sat down.

"Like I said, keep a PMA. I'll be around if you need something." I told her as I searched for a spot to claim.

I definitely didn't like the looks of the cells. "Rick, I'm taking a spot on the stairs."

He okayed it and grabbed my things. Daryl came up the stairs as well.

"What're ya doing?"

"Setting up camp. The cells creep me out." I said truthfully.

"Nonsense. You're coming with me. Got a spot on the perch. Much more comfortable than the stairs." He said, helping me pack my bag back.

I went along with him to a spot up another flight of stairs. It was off to the side and there was actually a full size mattress already on the ground. The floor had a thin layer of carpet, which would insulate the spot better, even if it was thin.

"Thank you." I said quietly as I pulled out my small blanket and pillow.

"Only the best for my girl." He smirked as he lay down.

I looked at him and smiled. Under all that tough, redneck-ness Daryl was one of the most caring people I knew.

"Where's Jamie?" He asked.

"Finding a cell. I told her she could if she wanted to. After all, she is fourteen. And we still have our walkies so if she needs us, she can reach us. I put fresh batteries in them the other day." I recalled.

He nodded.

Footsteps came up the stairs to our little settlement. Rick looked in on us.

"Settled in?" He asked.

"For the most part. Thank you Rick. If it weren't for you and Daryl finding this place, we all might be dead. You're giving us a real chance." I told our leader honestly. My gratitude spilled out and I was a bit embarrassed.

"Don't thank me yet. We're dangerously low on food, and medical supplies." He mumbled. Shit, this wasn't good.

"I'll get some of the guys, make run for some food. Maybe spot the infirmary while we're at it." Daryl stated, getting up and arming himself with his crossbow.

"I'm coming too." I chimed in, grabbing my baseball bat and knife. No way in hell was I letting Daryl risk his life AGAIN while I stayed back acting useless.

Surprisingly, they didn't fight my choice. This was great!

"I'll go tell the others." Rick said, leaving our presence.

* * *

After meeting with Rick our group was formed. It consisted of Rick, Glenn, Maggie, T-Dog, Hershel, Daryl, and myself.

Carl and Jamie were being the little guards of the camp while we went out. I hoped we'd all make it back alive and in one piece.

Before we set off, Daryl gave my hand a quick squeeze. I took a breath. We could do this. It was a simple run.

Little did I realize how wrong I was!

The journey started off smoothly. So far no walkers. Glenn made Maggie jump at one point but other than that, no surprises.

Daryl and Rick led us through the corridors, by the light of flashlights until we heard noises. Shit shit shit!

Daryl raised his light and we saw what was making all the racket—a shit-ton of walkers!

"Go back, go back!" Rick called out. We stumbled over ourselves, but were making progress…that was until we ran the wrong way and fumbled into another group of walkers!

And that's when hell broke lose! Maggie and Glenn got separated from us. They were farther down the hall, while we were trapped in a separate room.

"We have to go back for them!" I stated. I wasn't ready to give up on those two yet!

Rick understood and opened the door. Immediately, I shot forward. I thought I'd seen Maggie go through the door up ahead. I could have sworn I saw her.

I was so busy getting to the door that I didn't pay attention to the rotting corpse on the ground. I mean if it was going to come after me, it would have gotten up already, right?

As I slung open the door, revealing Maggie and Glenn hiding within a janitor's closet, screaming broke out. All three of us turned to see a horrific sight, Hershel getting his leg ripped open by the very walker I'd walked by…I'd ignored it…How stupid could I be! This was my fucking fault!

"No!" I screamed out. Maggie did the same, and shot forward to her injured father.

From there, I went numb. This was my fault. Rick stepped up and a few people helped him carry Hershel away from the approaching walkers. I couldn't feel anything anymore. As I stared at the walkers, the thought of trying to fight them off crossed my mind. It was a suicide mission, but that was okay. I felt like dying. It was my fault Hershel may die. I should've seen the walker on the ground. And now more people are gonna die because of me.

"Clary come on!" Daryl screamed as he aimed his crossbow on the approaching horde of undead.

His voice snapped me from my trance and suddenly I was sprinting with the group, my baseball bat swinging in my hand.

Rick and T led us to, what I guess was, a cafeteria. All the tables were flipped over and tossed to the side. Someone had obviously started a riot here.

They laid Hershel down on the ground and started examining his leg.

"It's gotta go, if he wants to live." Rick mumbled, grabbing a hatchet and going to town on the old guy's leg. I had to look away, it was so awful.

"Guys, duck." Daryl whispered. We all heard him and crouched low. Did he see walkers?

But he didn't shoot.

"Well, I'll be damn. They're alive." Some voice said.

I stood up straight, along with Glenn. Five guys were behind the bars of the serving area. It seemed they were holed up there, and they didn't seem to be starving.

Daryl menacingly called them out as Glenn ran back to grab a cart.

"Daryl! We gotta go! He's bleeding out!" Rick called out.

I simply stared at the men who'd been trapped here.

And my stare was met. The guy who seemed to lead this group stared back. He wasn't very tall but he was buff. His tan skin and black hair stood out. He had to be Mexican, or at least of Mexican descent.

He gave me the creeps.

"Guys! This door ain't holding forever!" T-Dog called out.

I immediately tore away from the Mexican's stare and ran to help T.

"Open them!" I screamed, readying my bat.

As soon as he did so, I started batting the bastards left and right, caving their skulls in. Rick and Glenn carted Hershel away, with T on their heels. I followed him, with Daryl bringing up the rear. He was walking backwards to prevent the prisoners from sneaking up on us. We didn't know them and more than likely they were an enemy.


	2. Sick

**Hay guys! So I'm doing a new format and trying to put a whole episode of TWD into each chapter. This process takes longer for me to post, and it makes the chapters about 3-4 times longer than before. So if you could pretty pleaseeeeeee let me know if you like or dislike this style, that'd be amazing! :) Hope you enjoy! xx**

Clary's POV

As we ran, I heard Rick scream. "Carl! Open the door!" Guess we'd arrived back at our cellblock…But of course, we weren't alone.

Rick, Glenn, and Maggie carted Hershel into the cellblock, while Daryl, and I stayed behind. T was going to try cornering them from behind.

The prisoners walked in, looking around.

"That's far enough." Daryl said coldly.

"Cellblock C, cell 4 that's my cell, gringo. Let me in." Crazy Mexican stated. I guess he was the leader of the group.

"It's your lucky day fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia, you're free to go."

"Whatcha got going on in there?" Mexican asked. He then eyed me.

Daryl suddenly stepped in front of me. "Ain't none of your concern."

"Hay don't be telling me what's my concern."

Mexican's friend tried calming him, and then they started talking among themselves.

"Bunch of civilians breaking into a prison they ain't got no business being in, bringing in a hot piece of ass like that, got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go!"

"Why don't you go find out?" Daryl snarled. Seriously this shit was getting out of hand.

"You better fuck outta here 'fore he drops an arrow in ya." I said, coming out from behind Daryl.

"Oh look, the whore speaks. What you and that brunette sucking all these guys off? That the price of staying in your group?" Mexican held his gun loosely.

"You best shut up, spick!" I said, ready to charge him.

Mexican aimed his gun at my head, Daryl aimed his bow at Mexican, and I had my bat aimed for Mexican's testicles. I was smiling just thinking about how good it'd be to crush his balls.

T-Dog finally appeared and aimed his gun at the whole lot.

With everyone yelling, I was surprised walkers hadn't found us.

Suddenly Rick ran out with his gun. He attempted to ease the tension.

"Everyone relax! There's no need for this!" Ha easy for him to say.

"How many of you in there?" Mexican asked.

"Too many for you to handle."

"Yeah so you best fuck outta here while you still can." I said, still readied with my bat.

Surprisingly, he didn't answer me. "You guys rob a bank or something? Why don't you take him to a hospital?" He asked, referring to Hershel.

I wanted to laugh. These guys didn't get it.

* * *

I think after showing the prisoners some dead bodies in the courtyard, they got it.

"This prison's ours." Rick stated when Mexican and the short ass black guy started arguing that it was theirs.

"We were here first."

"Tough shit, fag. We've claimed it now." I threatened.

Rick and Mexican exchanged more words, and the fag drew his gun. Without hesitation, I hit him in the legs with my bat. He fell and dropped his gun. I snatched it and tucked it into my jeans.

"Whoa now, maybe we can work this out, so everybody wins." The white guy said. So far, I liked him and the two huge black guys the best.

"I don't see that happening." Mexican scowled, trying to scare us.

"Neither do I." Rick stated calmly.

T-Dog and I flanked him on either side, while Daryl was behind me.

"I ain't going back in that cafeteria for one more minute."

"Well, there are other cellblocks." White guy said to his friend.

"You could LEAVE." Daryl emphasized. "Try your luck out on the road."

After a few moments of thinking, Mexican seemed to have an idea. "If these pussies could do all this," He said, gesturing to the carnage around us. "the least we can do is take out another cellblock."

"With what?" The big black guy with a beard asked.

And suddenly I REALLY got a bad feeling about Mexican dude.

"Atlanta here will spot us some real weapons, won't ya boss?"

We all waited to hear what Rick would say.

"How stocked is that cafeteria? Must've had plenty of food—five guys lasting almost a year." He asked.

"Sure as hell don't look like anyone's been starving." Daryl said observantly.

"There's only a little left." Mexican pouted, his pride dying by the second.

"Then we'll take half. In exchange, we'll clear out a cellblock." Rick offered.

"Didn't you hear him? There's only a little left!" The scrawny black guy retorted.

Fed up with the bullshit, I readied my bat. "And didn't you hear us? We'll take half. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Bet you got more food than you got choices. You pay, we'll play. We'll clear out a block for you then you keep to it." Rick stated. You could see we were winning.

"Alright." Mexican finally agreed.

"Now let's be clear, if we see you out here anywhere near our people, if I so much as catch a whiff of your scent, I will kill you." Rick threatened, getting right up in Mexican's face.

"Deal."

* * *

The prisoners led the way back to the cafeteria. It was actually quiet and thankfully none of these guys pulled anything stupid.

"Daryl, I don't trust the Mexican. Shady as fuck." I whispered.

He nodded and we continued walking.

"If you made one peep in here, then those freaks would be lined up outside the door, growling, trying to get in. Windows got bars even he-man couldn't get through." The black guy, we now learned was named Oscar said.

"Bigger than a five by eight." The little white guy said, looking sad.

"Won't find me complaining. Doing 15, my left leg would barely fit on one of those bunks." The really large black guy said in a sad tone.

"Ya done jerking each other off? I'm sick of waiting back here." Mexican asshole said, waiting for us at the entrance of the pantry.

Nervously I gripped my bat tighter as we walked back.

"Holy shit. This is enough food to feed a town." I said, walking into the large pantry.

"This what you call a little bit of food?" Daryl said, getting right up in Mexican's face. Seems like a lot of people like getting in his face.

"Goes fast…Now you can have a bag of corn, some tuna fish…"

"We said half. That's the deal." Rick reminded them…just before he opened a door that led to a rotting corpse. The face he made actually made me laugh a little.

"He wanted to know." Mexican laughed. He then looked to me. "What about you cutie? You available later?"

On the outside I scoffed and rolled my eyes. My insides were a different story. I was freaking scared.

"Hell no, 'less you want me to chop your nuts off ya prick."

"Aw come one now. Don't be like that. A man has his needs." He drawled out.

"She said she don't want you, ya bastard." Daryl growled. He was gripping his crossbow extra tight.

"What's the problem hick? Jealous much?" The Mexican said, getting in Daryl's face.

"That's enough. Romeo, come on man. She ain't interested." The lil white guy said, trying to stop his friend.

Without thinking, I got in between the two fighting men and looked right at Romeo. Daryl stepped back and once I had the room, I swung my bat…right at Romeo's dick.

He hit the floor, and sputtered out things I couldn't quite make out.

"Fuck off. Got it?" I said quietly in his ear. "And get up. I didn't break your dick."

Everyone was silent for a while.

"Grab the supplies. Let's move out." Rick commanded.

The prisoners, T-Dog, and Rick all grabbed our half of the food and walked out into the main portion of the cafeteria.

Before walking out, I looked down at Romeo. He looked back up at me, still holding his stomach. Good.

Daryl came over and tossed an arm around my shoulders, kissing my forehead. That'd show the bastard.

Jamie's POV

I sat on the floor of my cell; drawing on a sketchpad Clary had gotten me on a run. It was the only way I could keep my mind off my sister and her boyfriend being out there, possibly in danger. It was the only way I could my mind off any of this shit.

Suddenly I heard the cellblock door open.

"Food's here!" It sounded like T-Dog.

I shot up and ran toward the sound. T-Dog WAS the one speaking. Seems they found a shit ton of food!

"This all for us?" I asked.

T smiled. "You damn right it is. We just gotta go get the rest."

"Is Clary okay? What about Daryl?"

"Hay, chill now. They're just fine. They're on guard duty right now." T said, getting on my level.

"Guard duty?"

"Found some prisoners in the cafeteria. Your sister and Daryl are guarding them till further notice."

I guess a worried look appeared on my face.

"Hay now, they'll be back soon. Now why don't ya get these cans organized and put away?"

I frowned but did as he said.

Clary's POV

Guarding these fucks wasn't so much difficult as it was annoying. Romeo was still cradling his damn dick and pestering the shit out of us about getting "real weapons". Thank God Rick and T showed up when they did.

They laid the weapons on the table. Actually it looked like a pretty good arsenal. There were some crowbars, a hatchet, a machete, and some huge knives.

"Why do I need this," Romeo asked, holding out a sledgehammer, "when I got this?" He said, showing off his lil gun.

"You stupid or something?" I asked.

"You don't fire guns, not unless your back's up against a wall." Daryl explained. "Noise attracts them. Really riles them up."

"We'll go in two by two. Daryl will run point with T. I'll bring up the rear with Clary." Rick commanded, pointing to me. Guess he and I were going to make sure none of these guys pulled anything stupid.

"Stay tight. Hold formation, no matter how close the walkers get. Anyone breaks ranks, we could all go down. Anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a walker; end up with an axe to the head." Rick said, making sure everyone was on the same page.

"That's where you aim. These things only go down with a headshot." Daryl stated, backing Rick up.

I saw Romeo scoff. "Ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man."

That sent chills down my spine.

"They ain't men, they're something else." T spoke up.

"Just remember, go for the brain." Rick emphasized.

"And don't fuck this up." I said before they grabbed the weapons and we assumed formation

Jamie's POV

I stood outside the cell with Carl. I was worried for Hershel. Maggie was crying over him, saying she was okay with him dying. What the fuck?! How could she say that? Carl grabbed my hand and dragged me to the end of the cellblock where my cell was.

"Carl, what are you doing?"

"Hershel needs medicine."

"Duh, I know that. But we don't know where the infirmary is."

"That's cuz no one's searched for it yet."

"Wait…no no no. I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking." I said, starting to freak out.

"We have to find the infirmary." Carl insisted.

"You've lost it. The place could be packed with walkers!"

"But we don't know that."

"I don't wanna risk it. Even if we do find it, Hershel could still die. And one or both of us could too if we go sticking our necks where they don't belong." I replied, sitting on my cot.

"Fine. I'm going by myself." He mumbled, looking hurt. Immediately I felt guilty.

* * *

After a while, I sighed, trying not to waver my decision. My mind kept wandering. Clary, Rick, Daryl and the others had been gone a while. Could something have…happened to them? Would they make it back? No, they had to! They were tough assholes, so they would come back to us, right?

"Jamie-Lou," My sister's voice rang in my head. My mind only conjured my sister's voice when I needed advice or comfort…I guess right now, I needed both.

"Go with Carl. Hershel won't last much longer."

"But, I don't wanna get in trouble…or killed."

"Hershel needs you. The whole group needs you to find the infirmary."

It seems necessity outweighed sound logic, but I wasn't sure if I was ready.

I had to be though. The group needed me to be. I grabbed my gun, knife, and flashlight before running after Carl, and sneaked out of the cellblock. Shit this was fucking mental!

Clary's POV

Daryl and T led us through the corridors. It was dark, cold, and these prisoners were making the loudest racket.

We then heard something up ahead. Daryl signaled us to stop and we waited. A lone walker lumbered around the corner to us. Shit, another appeared. They used to be prisoners.

Everyone waited on edge until all the prisoners broke ranks and charged the two walkers. They started kicking and screaming at them, beating their stomachs in. Overall they were acting like they were still in prison, rioting.

Come on! Just fucking take them out already!

Rick, T, Daryl, and I all shared a look as we watched the prisoners loose their shit.

Jamie's POV

I didn't like this. Carl was nowhere to be found, and I was scared to yell, in case walkers were nearby.

"Carl…"

I was met with no answer. Quickly, I waved my flashlight around, searching for walkers.

"Carl?" I called a little louder.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around me. I nearly screamed, but the person had their hands around my mouth. Tears sprang to my eyes as I wriggled to get free.

"Jamie, hay! It's me." Carl's voice sounded.

My heart skipped a few beats and he released me.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you asshole!" I laughed, pushing him lightly.

"Come on. I think the infirmary's this way." He said, taking my hand.

"Carl are you sure the infirmary's this way? It seems like we're going in circles." I moaned.

"I don't know, maybe we should go back." He said, sounding a bit tired.

"What about down there. We haven't been this way yet, I don't think." I said, pointing to a hallway that jutted off to the left.

"Alright, let's go."

We took off down the hall and what do you know, it led straight to the infirmary!

"We found it!"

"Yeah! Help me open the door." Carl asked, attempting to open it.

After a few minutes of struggling, we finally got it open.

"Looks like it's still in tact. Maybe no one got a chance to loot it." I said, waving my flashlight around.

We started going through drawers, shoving anything and everything into our backpacks. There had to be something that'd help Hershel.

I then saw a cabinet that was partially open. "Carl, I'm gonna check this out."

I opened it, and was taken back by an emaciated walker that stumbled forward.

Shit!

I dropped my bag, and fumbled with my gun. Thankfully, I'd gotten a silencer on it so the shot wouldn't attract any attention.

Carl was behind me with his gun ready.

"Shoot it Jamie!"

I pulled the trigger and it keeled over.

"We should go." I said quietly, grabbing my bag. He agreed and grabbed his bag too.

"Carl, did you hear that?" I asked, hearing something around the corner. He nodded and both of us took out our guns.

Neither of us saw anything, that is, until we got around the corner. A walker with only half of its body was crawling around. Ew!

Carl didn't waste a second in shooting it.

"Come on!"

I sprinted after him, lugging the heavy backpack. Hopefully, we weren't too far from the cellblock.

"Come on! The cellblock's this way!" Carl reassured me.

I kept running and finally we made it to cellblock C. Carl took my bag from me.

"Hay wait up!" I called out as he kept walking with both bags.

"It's best if I go in and say I did this by myself. Only one of us will get in trouble."

"Carl, you sure? You're mom's gonna be pissed!"

"I'm sure. Now go back to your cell. Act like you don't know anything about me leaving." He said, walking towards the main portion of the cellblock.

* * *

I stood there for a moment before running back to my cell. My shirt was grimy so I changed it. I then pulled out a smuggled cigarette from my bag. I lit it and lay down on my cot. I listened as Carl and his mom argued. It wasn't long before he ran to my cell.

"How'd it go?" I asked, sitting up.

"You shouldn't smoke."

"Better to smoke and get relaxed than to not smoke and go off searching for my sister on my own." I said, feeling nervous at the mention of my sister.

"Can I try it?" He asked.

I smirked. "Sure, but careful, it's strong." I warned.

He took a long drawl and immediately he started coughing. I laughed my ass off as I took the cigarette back.

"Told ya."

"Smoking ain't for me." He said as he finished coughing.

"Go eat or drink something. It'll cover the smell." I ordered. He nodded and he left to hide the fact he'd been smoking.

Clary's POV

"It's gotta be the brain; not the stomach or the heart, the brain." Daryl reminded everyone as he took down a walker.

Little white guy seemed the most corporative. "I hear ya; the brain."

One of the big guys took out the next walker. "Like that?"

Daryl mumbled a quick "mhmm" as white guy took out the next one.

Rick shanked another one with his machete. So far things were going good. No surprises.

"Stay in tight formation. No more prison riot crap." Rick commanded.

I edged forward as about ten walkers stumbled toward us.

One attempted to grab me, but stabbing it through the eye put an end to him. Some of its rotting blood stuck to my skin. Ick!

During the fighting, it was hard to stay in ranks. The prisoners were scared and I feared a walker would break through. But my main focus was stabbing the walker that was about to grab Rick.

We then heard screaming, human screaming. Rick heard it too.

"Follow me!"

I did so, and found out that the large guy, Big Tiny, was about to be taken out by two walkers.

Rick stabbed the one and I attempted to do the same to the other, but Rick shoved me against the wall. Three gunshots rang out and I saw Crazy Mexican, Romeo staring coldly at the scene.

I wasn't so sure if the guy was there enough not to kill us there on the spot.

I then looked at Big Tiny, who actually seemed like a decent guy. Shit, there was blood, a lot of it.

"Guys, he's hurt!" I called out. This wasn't good.

Rick sighed and took a closer look at the wound.

"I'm telling you, I don't feel anything. It's just a scratch. It didn't bite me."

I walked away, towards the area where the small herd had come from.

"I'm keeping watch." I whispered to Daryl. He nodded and squeezed my hand. I squeezed back.

* * *

I heard most of the prisoners pleading for Big Tiny's life, but there wasn't anything we could do. Didn't they get it? He was going to die. He was scratched and probably already had a fever.

As if on que, I heard something big and heavy fall in mid sentence. I closed my eyes and walked back to the group.

Big Tiny was dead and Romeo was going to work on his skull. Blood coated the Mexican and he looked at Rick like he planned to kill him next.

Rick met his stare, not flinching. "Let's move out."

We followed and continued down the corridors to cellblock B.

T and I led the group into what looked like a laundry room. So far the coast was clear.

We all made our way to a door that led to the cellblock. It was locked shut and it sounded like a lot of hungry bastards were on the other side.

Daryl tossed Romeo the keys, which he let hit the ground. "I ain't opening that."

"Yes you are, if you want this cellblock." Rick told him.

"Why don't you get your bitch to do it?" He snarled.

I stepped up, ready to hit him with my bat.

"Say that again, spick!" I taunted him.

"Enough!" Rick said authoritatively. He then looked to Romeo. "Now you're gonna open that door, just the one; not both of them, cuz we need to control this."

Reluctantly Romeo picked up the keys. Something about him seemed off though. He might try something to hurt us. He wasn't making it a big secret he hated our guts.

He finally unlocked the door and looked back. "You bitches ready?"

We all tensed up and prepared for him to open the door.

He tried pulling on it a couple of times, but it wouldn't budge.

"I got this." He smirked, feeling cocky.

He then threw open both doors! The little shit head!

"I said one door!" Rick screamed as we started taking down the fuckers.

"Shit happens!" Romeo yelled back, knocking a walker out with his pickaxe.

There had to be at least 20 walkers coming at us. We all started stabbing and mutilating them before they could get a chance get their hands on us. It had turned into chaos.

I backed away some to assess the scene, then saw one lumber towards Daryl. He didn't notice its presence.

Oh hell no! No one was turning into walker food on my watch!

I ran towards the thing, jamming my knife deep into its skull. It went down quickly and I pushed it away.

That's when I saw Romeo go after a walker…but when he swung a little too close to Rick, I thought it seemed weird. I kept my eyes on him.

I took down another walker that was going after T and looked back at Romeo and Rick. Romeo had clearly shoved a walker right into Rick, knocking him over. His weapon went flying somewhere, and he was utterly defenseless.

"Daryl!" I yelled, pointing to where Rick went down. He quickly killed the walker and helped Rick up.

Scrawny black guy killed the last walker and we waited for a moment. It seemed like we'd killed them all.

"It was coming at me, bro." Romeo said to Rick. I guess he was referring to him throwing a walker at our leader. Yeah, this guy was a complete douche bag. I was ready for him to die.

"Yeah, I get it. I get it. Shit happens." Rick said, eerily calm.

Romeo stood there, scanning his face. He obviously wasn't sure what our leader was planning. None of us knew for sure.

In one swift motion, Rick put his machete threw Romeo's head.

As he sank to the ground, scrawny screamed and attempted to go after Rick. I raised my bat, ready to take him out.

"I'd think twice about that if I were you!" I advised.

But he ignored me. He went right after our leader who kicked him in the chest, sending him flying to the ground.

"Easy now." Daryl told the guy.

He then took off running, and so did I. Before Rick could even speak I was already chasing the black guy down the corridors.

Rick followed while T and Daryl stayed behind.

* * *

I followed the guy to the boiler rooms, where he went out an emergency exit that led to a part of the courtyard our group hadn't touched yet. It was probably overrun with about fifty or more walkers.

Rick had caught up with me and we watched as the guy tried turning back.

"Shut the gate." He ordered. I nodded and locked the gate to get back in the building.

"Let me back in man! Let me back in!" He pleaded.

"You better run." Rick said coldly.

I saw the horror on the guys' face as he tried getting away from the hoard that were after him. He'd die there. That much was certain.

I shut the door, locking it in the process. "It's done. It was the right call." I told Rick.

He just nodded as we walked back to where the two other prisoners were.

* * *

"We didn't have nothing to do with that." The last black guy stated calmly. I seemed to buy his story so far. If he had been involved, he and the white guy would have tried to take us out already.

"You didn't know? You knew." Rick accused.

"Please, please listen to me! It was them that was bad. It wasn't us!"

"Oh that's convenient!" Rick snarled.

"You saw what he did to Tiny! He was my friend." He said, nearing tears.

Then whitey turned to me. "Miss, you gotta see reason. Please, we ain't like that. I like my pharmaceuticals, but I'm no killer."

I bit my lip, trying to think clearly. White guy was babbling so much I couldn't make heads or tales of anything else he was saying.

Rick then wheeled around to Oscar, the black guy. "What about you?" he asked.

Oscar seemed to stare right into Rick's eyes. "I ain't ever pleaded for my life. And I ain't about to start now." He said with thought. "So you do what you gotta do."

Rick just stood there, pointing the gun at the guy's head. Would he kill him? Honestly, I did believe their story. They didn't seem like killers.

* * *

Daryl slung open the door to cellblock B. Rick threw the white guy in and he stared in shock.

"Aw man. I-I knew these guys." He said quietly. "They were good men."

I looked at the guy with sympathy. I knew what he was going through. Most of my friends, before the world went to shit, had seen the inside of a jail cell. I considered most of them good people too. Hell, if the world hadn't ended, I'd probably be locked up too. Sometimes people just made mistakes.

Daryl glanced at me. I think he was thinking the same thing.

Rick then looked at us. "Let's go."

Oscar then spoke up. "You just gonna leave us in here? Man this is sick!"

"We're locking down this cellblock. From now on, this part of the prison's yours. Take it or leave it, that was the deal." Rick said catatonically then he walked off.

"You think this is sick, you don't wanna know what's on the outside." Daryl said truthfully.

"Consider yourselves the lucky ones." Rick finished.

"Sorry bout your friends." Daryl said empathetically to the prisoners.

I gave them a bit of a sad smile. "Good luck."

I don't know why, but all this felt so solemn. I then looked to Daryl. He looked at me and took my hand, squeezing it gently.

Jamie's POV

I finally left my cell and stood watch with Carl, Glenn, Maggie, Beth, and Lori. They seemed a bit more hopeful now that we had the medical supplies.

Just then we heard the cellblock door open.

I looked and saw Rick and the others piling in. I took off running and waited for Clary and Daryl.

They walked in last, holding hands. Without thinking, I hugged both of them, beyond thankful that they both came back alive.

Clary smiled and hugged me back while Daryl ruffled my hair. "No excitement happen while we were gone?" He asked.

I shook my head, lying a little. "Nah, it was boring."

He chuckled a little. "Next time I go hunting, I'll take ya with me. Maybe you won't be so bored then."

I looked up at Clary who still had a hand around me. "That's between you two."

I then went with Clary to her spot on the perch while Daryl went to check on Hershel. Carl was still down there too.

"Clary, what happened? You look disgusting."

"Prisoners, walkers, basically shit hit the fan." She said, plopping down on her cot.

She then proceeded to tell me about everything that'd happened and asked how my day went. I bit my lip when I told her that nothing had happened, that I'd stayed in my cell most of the day. I hated lying to her. And lately I'd been doing that a lot. I'd been smoking, I lied about killing that walker on the farm last spring, and now I was lying about sneaking out of the cellblock and getting supplies.

She gave me another hug before grabbing her things to find a way to get a shower.

"I love you baby, you remember that." She said, kissing my forehead.

"I love you too." I said, hugging her.

I then walked back to my cell, plopped onto my cot, and proceeded to cry my eyes out.


	3. Killer Within

**Yoooooo guys I'm back! Sorry it's been sooo long, but I just got out of school today for Winter break! :D So I took the evening and wrote this! Enjoy! :)**

**S/N: I know now, that the Mexican prisoner's name is Tomas, not Romeo, but because I'm a lazy bastard I decided to just roll with Romeo :) Hope you don't mind! **

Unknown POV

He was desperate. He'd been left out to die, to be torn apart by those freaks. And it was all that Atlanta guy's fault, as well as that bitch's fault too. He thought he'd die in that courtyard, but he was wrong.

It wasn't easy, but he'd survived. He managed to get out. And the fresh air let him think of a clear plan, a plan for revenge on that scumbag group that just walked in like they owned the place.

He managed to find a deer that'd been torn up by some geeks and dragged it back to the prison; leaving half of it on the ground, the other half strung up.

While the two walkers were distracted by their meal, he ran to the gate. By some higher power up above, he'd found an axe to break the lock that Atlanta set up. Two, three tries and the lock fell to the ground. Looking around, he placed the deer's heart at the entrance. More walkers would smell the food, and the prison would be overrun. That'd show Atlanta.

Clary's POV

I woke up the next morning, realizing I slept in.

"Fucking hell." I muttered, sitting up and looking for some clothes.

I then remembered why I slept in when I looked down and saw I was nude.

"Guess we had fun last night." I chuckled, looking at the nearly empty bottle of whiskey beside the bed.

Once I was dressed I found Lori looking in on Hershel.

"Morning sleepyhead." Lori smiled.

I returned the smile. "Morning. How's he doing?"

"Better. He should pull through." Lori said, sounding hopeful.

"Where's everyone?"

"Out taking care of things." she stated, touching her stomach.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, the baby's kicking pretty hard." She amended.

"Look in on Jamie for me? I'm gonna see if Rick needs any help." I asked, munching on a granola bar.

"Of course."

I nodded and walked towards the cellblock door to go outside.

* * *

When I found everyone, they were staring at the east guard tower.

"Morning." Carol greeted.

"Need any help?" I asked, looking at Rick. I stole a glance at Daryl and blushed.

I was then interrupted by T-Dog. "Rick!"

We all turned and saw what he saw. The two prisoners who'd survived clearing their cellblock looked at us.

Rick strode towards them, T, Daryl, and I hot on his heels.

"That's close enough." He stated with disgust. "We had an agreement."

White guy, who seemed to always have his arms crossed, looked at us. "Please mister, we know that. We made a deal…but you gotta understand, we can't live in that place another minute, ya follow me?"

I watched as Maggie and Glenn walked out behind these guys.

"All the bodies, people we knew…blood, brains everywhere; there's ghosts!" Whitey continued, seeming genuinely afraid.

"Drag the bodies out." Daryl said.

"Should be burning them." T-Dog finished.

"We tried! We did!" White guy pleaded.

"Fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out those things just line up. We drop a body and just run back inside." Oscar explained.

"Look, we had nothing to do with Romeo and Andrew, nothing!" White guy said, getting desperate. I'd never seen this guy talk this much.

"You tried to prove a point. You proved it, bro. We'll do whatever it takes to be part of your group, just please, please…don't make us live in that place." He finished.

I looked to Rick. These two guys seemed the least hostile out of the prisoners we'd met, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with them being around Beth, or Jamie, or Carl, or any of our group. They were outsiders.

"Our deal is non-negotiable. You either live in your cell block or you leave." Rick told them.

Oscar then looked to his buddy. "I told you this was a waste of time." And then he stared at us. "They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys."

"We know you're not used to things yet. I don't think any of us will ever be used to this…but you ought to have some gratitude. We found you guys. Showed you how to kill these fuckers!" I stated, pointing to a rotting corpse. "Even helped you clear out a space to live."

"You saying we should be grateful for all this?" He asked, flinging his arms out. "You know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw them out like—these were good guys; really good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint, like Romeo and Andrew." Oscar stated.

"Now we've all made mistakes to get in here, chief. And I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me, we paid our due; enough that we would rather hit that road than to go back into that shithole." He finished.

I looked to Rick, who was intently staring back at the prisoners. It pained my heart seeing this play out. I knew people like these prisoners, before the world went to hell.

Rick turned and looked to Daryl. I did too. All he did was shake his head. These guys more than likely weren't gonna be allowed in our group.

* * *

Daryl locked the gate as our group had a quick meeting. T was okay with them living with us. Glenn was unsure about Axel, and Carol was flat out against this.

"It's just been us for so long, they're strangers. It feels weird having other people around." Maggie said quietly.

"You brought us in." T told her.

"You turned up with a shot boy in your arms. We had no choice."

"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn pointed out. But that really was irrelevant. They could learn.

"Those two might have less blood on their hands than we do." T said to Rick.

Then Daryl spoke up. "I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with 'em. They're degenerates, but they ain't psychos. I could've been in there with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys."

"Same here." I said, crossing my arms. "Shit, before all this happened, I stayed in and out of jail. I met people like these guys, and they helped me stay alive while serving time. They ain't bad, just made mistakes."

"So you with me?" T asked Daryl.

"Hell no. Let them take their chances out on the road, just like we did."

"And you, Clary?"

I bit my lip. "If Oscar was by himself and that shit hadn't happened when we cleared out their cell block, then I'd say yes. But too much has happened. I got bad vibes. Sides' Glenn's right about Axel. He's too unstable. Say something happens and he freaks? He could go berserk and hurt someone."

Rick then told us about a case he'd dealt with when he was a policeman—some kid, 19, who stabbed his girlfriend and suckered the jury into being found not guilty. Not two weeks later the same kid shot another girl.

"We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." Rick finished.

Glenn, Rick, Carl, me, and Daryl all walked back to the fence to tell the prisoners that their fate had been decided. They weren't coming into our group.

* * *

"Move the cars to the upper yard. Point them facing out. They'll be out of the way and ready if we ever need to bail." Rick said, as Daryl threw Glenn a pair of keys.

"And we'll get the prisoners, a weeks worth of supplies for the road." Rick continued.

"They're not gonna last a week." T voiced.

"Their choice." Rick reminded him.

I ran ahead to help Glenn with the gate as everyone began moving their vehicles.

I watched as Axel talked to Daryl. Daryl seemed a little annoyed at the guy. It made me chuckle a bit as he just road past the prisoners.

"I didn't know you'd been in jail before." Glenn told me as we started locking the gate back.

"Didn't need to mention it before."

"What were you locked up for?"

I sighed. "You really don't wanna know, Glenn."

"Yes I do. I have a right to."

I then glared. "Why? You think I'm a threat?"

"I'm just curious, okay? This whole thing will stay between us."

I bit my lip. "Fine. You really wanna know? The first time I got arrested I was 16. I'd nearly beaten this girl's skull in. She had to have minor surgery to reconstruct part of her skull. Then when I was 19 the cops busted me for a broken taillight; then found out I was high as fuck on ecstasy. At 22, drunk and disorderly. After that, I got a bunch of overnight assault charges, mostly bar fights, and then a few shoplifting charges. Happy now?" I asked, feeling really upset. I shouldn't have to discuss the past with anyone.

"Clary I'm sorry, I didn't know." Glenn amended. He looked kinda shocked.

"That's right, Glenn, you didn't. And I'm not mad at you, but please, if you have a conscience at all, please don't say anything to anyone; especially Jamie. I know she likes spending time with you and Maggie. But she's still a kid. She doesn't need to know that her sister was…is a horrible person. As far as she knows, I was a straight A student, never got in trouble, and moved away." I told him.

"You're not a horrible person Clary. You just made some mistakes, we all do." He said as we started walking back.

"Maybe so." I mumbled back.

Jamie's POV

"Why can't we do something around here? I'm tired of sitting on my ass." I muttered as I sat up from drawing.

Carl looked at me as I stretched. "Well, my gun hasn't been cleaned in a while."

I thought for a moment. "Mine hasn't either, come to think of it."

"Let's go clean them then. It'll give us something to do."

Carl grabbed his weapon and I got mine, taking them to the stairs to clean them.

Not long after we'd started cleaning them, Lori and Beth came walking in. Lori had a pair of crutches. Beth looked at us, mainly Carl.

Carl blushed like a damn tomato and smiled at her. I smirked.

"Hay Beth." I waved.

She waved back. "Hay Jamie, Carl."

Once she and Lori were out of ear shot I nudged Carl. "You like Beth, you like Beth!" I sang out, laughing.

He went about ten shades redder and glared. "No I don't."

"Don't deny it, Carl, you're in love." I said over dramatically, just for laughs.

This time he laughed too. "I'm gonna check on Hershel. Mom said he was awake this morning."

"Alright. Tell him I said 'hi'." I said, sitting back down to clean my gun.

He nodded and left me by myself. That's how things always were. I was getting used to being alone. I was too old to be coddled and worried about, but I was too young to be out there really helping the group. Rick was putting more trust in Carl, but Clary still didn't have much trust in me. It pissed me off. Didn't she get that I wanted to help? But deep down I know she just wants me safe. But safe doesn't help the group. If Carl and I hadn't gone on that run, Hershel could have died! I smiled thinking about the run. I felt proud I'd actually done something to help.

Clary's POV

Glenn and I offered to take the prisoners their supplies. Just before we left, Daryl stopped me.

"Be careful. Guys like these are desperate. Don't know what they might do."

I smiled a bit. "I know, Daryl. Don't worry though. Glenn and I will be fine."

He glanced at Glenn and nodded to him. "I'm sure you will."

We then shared a quick hug and kiss before I ran to catch up with Glenn.

"There's enough food there to last you guys a week. We'll cut you loose when we get back." Glenn told them as I unlocked the gate.

He handed the men their supplies.

"Thank you bro." Axel said honestly.

"And thank you lil lady." Oscar chimed in.

I looked at them. "If I were you, I'd use this time to make a plan. It won't be a few hours before sunset. Walkers get harder to spot in the dark."

Glenn and I started walking off. "Sit tight."

* * *

It wasn't long before we joined Rick, and Daryl.

"Everything go okay?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. They seemed…grateful." Glenn told them.

We then saw walkers wondering throughout the second layer of fencing.

"Should we take them out?" I asked Rick.

"No. It's not hurting anything right now. Sides' we need to save the ammo."

"I'll start making runs; sooner the better." Daryl told Rick.

"Gather as much wood as you can without making a run. Then we'll build a fire." Rick told us.

"Won't a fire attract more walkers?" Glenn asked. "Maybe we should burry them."

"We're behind a fence. It's worth the one time risk to get rid of the bodies for good. I don't wanna be planting crops in walker rotted soil." Rick explained.

I then dropped back to talk to Daryl. "I'm going back to the cellblock; check in on Jamie. Maybe see if Maggie and Carol need some help."

He nodded. "Might be best. We're gonna be out here a while."

I squeezed his hand lightly. "If you run into trouble, come get us."

* * *

The walk back to the main prison area wasn't that long. I approached it, as Carol was pulling in her Cherokee.

The cellblock door opened, Lori holding it open for Hershel. Beth, Jamie, and Carl were following him.

Hershel looked up and saw me. I smiled at the sight of him. "Well, Clary, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He grinned.

I walked up to him and hugged him.

"You look good, Hershel. Glad to see you up and moving." I told him.

"It feels good to be moving." He replied.

I walked to Jamie and gave her a hug. "What'd you do today hun?"

She sighed and looked upset. "Just cleaned my gun. Then reorganized the food…then reorganized it again…and maybe again."

I chuckled at my lil sister. The boredom was oozing off her. "Don't worry. There's plenty to do around here."

"You cleared all those bodies out?" Hershel asked.

"Rick and the others are gathering wood to burn them." I told him.

He nodded, still looking around. "It's starting to look like a place we could really live in."

"Watch your step. Last thing we need is you falling." Lori told him.

Our little caravan of people followed Hershel around the courtyard. Everyone saw he was up and were excited for him.

* * *

We stopped by the fence. Lori and I both looked out at our men. I grinned when I caught the smallest hint of a smile on Daryl's face. His smiles were something this world needed.

Just then Jamie turned and yanked on my arm so hard I thought she'd break it.

"What the—." I then understood what was wrong.

"Walkers!" Carl yelled out.

Beth and Lori started panicking.

"Beth! Get Hershel back inside!" I commanded. She nodded and started running with her dad.

Without hesitation, Carl climbed up on the picnic table and started shooting. Lori started shooting as well.

I pulled out my gun and aimed at the oncoming walkers. Jamie coward behind me for a brief moment then stepped out and aimed her gun.

She put aside her fear and started shooting. I only prayed that we'd make it. The walkers were gaining and the rest of the group was really too far away to help us.

I spared a glance to the right and saw that Maggie, T, and Carol were dealing with walkers too. Where the hell did they all come from?!

I then saw why we had so many walkers inside. The gate to the rest of the prison was open!

"Jamie go with Hershel! He's almost at inside! I want you to wait in there!" I screamed.

"No! I'm fighting!" She yelled back. I bit my lip and kept firing my gun.

Maggie then screamed for Lori. She then looked at me. "Take Carl and Jamie! Go! I'll keep these guys busy!" I yelled over the moans of the undead.

I then grabbed Jamie and shoved her to Lori. Carl grabbed her hand and they ran ahead to Maggie with Lori behind them. At least my sister would be safe.

I continued shooting when T-Dog and Carol whizzed by me. Carol screamed for me to come with her but I refused.

"The gate's gotta be shut or we'll have more walkers on our asses!" I yelled to them. "Go! I'll distract them while you get the gate shut!"

T ran towards the gate as I cleared a path for him. Where was Rick, Glenn, and Daryl!?

Just then a walker charged me. I was overpowered and fell to the ground. Shit!

The walker was at least 50 lbs. heavier than me and smelled horrible. My gun had fallen out of my hand and I couldn't quite reach my knife.

Tears of rage, panic, and fear filled my eyes. "Get off me!" I screamed as I grabbed its neck and rolled. I ended up on top of it and started bashing its skull into the ground.

I then got up and started knifing every fucker in sight. It took longer to do, but saved ammo, plus I wasn't sure where my gun was.

"No!" I heard someone scream.

I looked towards the sound and saw Carol screaming. T-Dog was being attacked by walkers.

"No!" I screamed as well, jamming my knife into the nearest walker's skull.

The next instant I looked up, Carol and T were gone. Did they get bitten and torn apart? Did they make it inside?

Rage built up in me and I started going berserk, killing every walker I could. My knife, and body were covered in blood and guts.

I couldn't think, I couldn't even scream. I was so enveloped in my rage that I didn't even hear the gunshots that broke out around me.

Someone then grabbed me, making me drop my knife. I screamed out, then realized it was Daryl. That's when everything hit me.

"Easy now." He whispered to me. "I got you."

That seemed to pull me out of my rage. Tears flowed down my face, but I wiped them away.

"Th-they got T. He's bit." My heart broke that he'd been bit.

"Shh." He mumbled, kissing my shoulder.

Rick then started screaming to Beth about Lori.

That made me focus on Jamie.

"Jamie. I have to get Jamie!" I started saying catatonically.

Daryl helped me stand up and then we heard something no one wants to hear during an apocalypse—noise; a lot of it.

"Who the fuck turned the sirens on?!" I yelled out.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Daryl yelled too. We were all pissed and stressed and…well, ready to kill.

I glanced around. "Walkers are gonna be on us in seconds! We gotta shut that damn thing off!"

Rick then threw Daryl some keys and aimed his gun, not at the walkers, but at the sound system near the roof. Of course!

Glenn did the same thing…but the noise wouldn't stop!

"What the fuck?!" I yelled in anger, fear, and frustration.

Rick then ran to the two prisoners. "How the hell can this be happening?!"

Oscar and Rick then started screaming about back up generators and shutting them off.

"Come with us!" Rick yelled, grabbing him.

Jamie's POV

Carl and I lead the way through the basement of the prison. It was dark and sirens were sounding from outside.

I wondered if Rick and the others had set them off, or if…someone else had. After all, there were prisoners here.

Lori then made a weird sound and we saw that she was leaning against the wall. Maggie ran to her.

"You gotta keep up."

"Something's not right." Lori explained.

"You bit?!" Carl asked.

Lori then sank to the ground. I watched one side of the hall for walkers while Carl watched the other.

"The baby's coming!" Lori panicked.

Just then about a dozen walkers came down the hall.

Maggie lead Lori away while Carl cleared the way. I brought up the rear, making sure no walkers bit us.

Lori then began crying out in pain. I shot a walker that was getting too close to us. Carl then led us down another hallway that wasn't crowded with those freaks.

"In here!" He called out, gesturing for us to get inside a dark room. From what I could tell, it was a boiler room.

Once we were all in, Maggie was helping Lori. We waited quietly for the walkers to pass us.

And then Lori gripped a chain, nearly falling to the floor in pain.

Clary's POV

Rick shot a walker, screaming for Lori and Carl.

"Rick! Screaming's not gonna help!" I told him, but he ignored me.

Daryl then ran into the cell, grabbing his arrow. "Took down 5 of them in there!"

"There were four in here, but no sign of Lori or any of them!"

Rick was convinced someone was after us. I felt he was right. Sirens don't just cut on by themselves, and walkers don't cut chains.

All of us ran to the generator room to shut the sirens off. That would at least stop the attraction of walkers.

Jamie, please be alive. I'll find you, baby.

Jamie's POV

"Lori let's lay you down." Maggie said, trying to help her.

"No, the baby's coming now."

What?! In the middle of this shitstorm? Yep, we had to be cursed.

"We have to get back to our cellblock and have Hershel help—." Carl started to say.

"No! We can't!" I said without thinking.

"She's right." Maggie said. "We can't risk getting caught out there. We're gonna need to give birth to this baby here."

Maggie then started taking Lori's pants off and laid her down to give birth.

"You're gonna need to help birth your little brother or sister, you up for it?" Maggie asked Carl.

He just looked at her like she was crazy.

I lightly squeezed his hand and he squeezed back. He seemed really scared.

Lori stood up and started pushing and screaming. Lori helped her, while I ran to the door to make sure no walkers got in. Carl just stood there with his gun, nervous.

Maggie screamed for Lori not to push, and withdrew her hand, which was covered in blood.

Tears threatened to fall. I wanted my sister.

Clary's POV

It was pure chaos. Walkers were popping up faster than we could take them down. Our only hope was to outrun them.

Rick then led us to the generator room. He and I scanned the area for walkers, while Daryl and Oscar held the door shut so the geeks couldn't get in.

"How do you shut this thing off?" Rick asked.

Oscar ran to help Rick, which left Daryl as the only person to hold the door. I slammed myself against it, helping him and hoping Rick and Oscar would get this thing shut off.

Out of nowhere I saw sparks flying and Rick stumbling. I saw a dude attack our leader. No one could help him though. Oscar was shutting the sirens off, and Daryl and I were holding the doors.

"I can't hold it much longer!" Daryl gritted out.

"I can't either!"

He then glanced at his crossbow.

"When I jump back, you jump back, then get behind me!" He commanded. I nodded my head and waited.

And suddenly I was the only on holding the door. I quickly jumped back, and got behind Daryl. He aimed his crossbow at the walkers, taking them down. Rick was still fighting the unknown guy.

Once Daryl took out the two walkers, he slammed the door shut. We both watched as Oscar threw a barrel across the room and aimed a gun at the guy attacking Rick.

We finally saw who the guy was…Andrew! My blood began boiling just thinking that he caused T-Dog's death, and maybe others.

"Shoot him!" Andrew said, trying to persuade Oscar to kill Rick. "We can take back this prison!"

It was tense for a while. Oscar wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

"What are you waiting for? Do it!" Andrew, the shit head told him.

Without missing a beat, Oscar moved the gun to the left and shot Andrew right in the head.

Daryl handed me his crossbow while he sneaked up on Oscar with a knife. If Oscar made one wrong move, he was a dead man.

But there was no need. Oscar flipped the gun around and handed it to Rick. Rick took it and killed the sirens.

Everything was quiet.

"Let's go."

Jamie's POV

Maggie got Lori to lie back down when she began passing out.

"Mom, mom look me. Look at me. Keep your eyes open." Carl spoke to his mom.

I glanced out the door. So far, there weren't any walkers around.

"I know what it means, and I'm not loosing my baby…you gotta cut me open." Lori mumbled. My stomach dropped. That was a death sentence. She'd loose too much blood and die, and that's even if she survived the shock. We didn't have any medical equipment.

"No. I can't." Maggie said adamantly.

"You don't have a choice."

Carl then got up, ready to go get Hershel or Carol.

"Lori, I don't have any anesthetics, no equipment."

"But Carl has a knife." Lori said quietly.

"You won't survive." Maggie told her.

"My baby has to survive." Lori said.

She then started begging Maggie to perform the C-section. Tears brimmed my eyes. I didn't wanna lose anyone else.

"You see my old C-section scar?" Lori asked Maggie.

Maggie looked ready to cry too. "I can't."

"You can." Lori said between labored breaths. "You have to."

Lori then grabbed Carl's arm. "Baby, I-I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now you, you take care of your daddy for me all right? And your little brother or sister. You take care of them."

"Why do I have to do this?" Carl asked, nearing tears.

"You are gonna be fine." Lori reassured him. "You are gonna beat this world. I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave; and I love you." You could hear her voice crack.

"I love you too." He said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"You gotta do what's right. You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So if it feels wrong, don't do it, alright? If it feels easy don't do it, don't let the world spoil you!"

Both Carl and Lori started crying. I teared up as well. This was the last time Carl would see his mom.

They both shared an emotional hug, and I couldn't stop the tears. Maggie looked over at me, and motioned for me to come over. I did so and she hugged me, kissing the top of my head. All four of us couldn't contain our sobs.

Once they finished their hug, Lori looked to me. "Jamie, sweetie, don't cry. It's gonna be okay, you hear me."

I nodded, trying to wipe my tears. "You're going to look after Carl for me, keep him out of trouble." She said, wiping her own tears.

"And listen to your sister. She loves you like I love Carl, and wants nothing but the best for you." She continued.

"I wish you didn't have to do this!" I cried.

Maggie wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"But I do, and it'll be okay. This baby's gonna make it, and I trust you guys to get it back to the group."

We all nodded, wiping our tears. Lori let out a groveled cry and spoke to Maggie. "Maggie when this is over, you're going to have to—."

"Shh"

"It can't be Rick!" Lori cried out.

Maggie agreed and Carl handed her the knife. I stepped back and watched as Maggie cut Lori open.

Instantly, Lori began screaming. I had to turn away as I started crying more. This was just too much.

"Stop! You're killing her!" Carl cried out uselessly. He knew she would die no matter what.

And then all was quiet. I looked back and saw that Lori had passed out.

"Carl, give me your hand." Maggie instructed him. I watched as they worked to deliver the baby.

The delivery didn't take long. Maggie held it in her arms, but my stomach felt weak looking at it. It's face seemed frozen in a silent cry.

"It's not crying. Tap it to wake it up!" I told her.

And she did so, tapping its feet, then stomach. It still wouldn't wake up. She then flipped it over and tapped its back. A small cry resounded and I was breathless.

I then ripped off the t-shirt I'd been wearing, stripping down to my tank top. I handed the shirt to Maggie and she wrapped the baby in it.

Carl took off his jacket and Maggie double wrapped the baby in it.

"We have to go." Maggie said to both of us. I stood up and looked to Carl.

"We can't just leave her here. She'll turn."

Maggie then reached into her jeans for her gun. Carl was still upset and had a tear fall from his face.

"No."

"Carl,"

"She's my mom." He told her.

I understood and Maggie and I walked away to let Carl lay his mom to rest. This all felt so unreal. I felt numb.

I then looked outside the boiler room and saw a few walkers. Maggie and I quickly retreated back inside, just before we heard it.

I grabbed Maggie's hand as I heard the gunshot ring out. I broke out in tears once more, then looked for Carl.

But it wasn't Carl who returned to us. I'm not sure who it was. It looked like Carl, but his face was hard, he had no expression on his face, and he just walked past us.

We followed him, attempting to find our way back to our group.

Clary's POV

It was a long walk back from the generator room. We stopped to kill a walker, but it turned out to be Glenn and Axel.

Rick led us down another hallway and shot two walkers who were feasting on a fresh body. They hadn't touched the face, so we knew it was T-Dog. I bit my lip to keep from letting the tears fall. He was dead because I didn't kill the walker before it got him.

Daryl then called our attention to a piece of clothing. It was Carol's scarf.

"No." I mumbled quietly, overcome with grief. Carol was one of the best people I'd met in this group. Whenever I needed to talk to someone, she understood.

The tears I'd been holding back fell down my face and I turned to punch the wall. I did it several times, until Daryl touched my waist.

"If the others are alive, they'd go back to the cellblock." Glenn said to us. I didn't really care though. I shut down mentally and emotionally. Daryl lead me back to the courtyard. We all ran to where Hershel and Beth were.

"Hershel!" Glenn yelled out.

"You didn't find them?"

"We thought maybe they came back out here." Glenn said.

Both Beth and Hershel shook their heads.

"What about T? Carol? Jamie?" Hershel asked. We all went silent and I just leaned my head on Daryl's shoulder. All I could think about was my sister. I'd more than likely lost her forever.

"They didn't make it." Daryl stated.

"That doesn't mean the others didn't! We're going back! Daryl and Glenn, you come with me." Rick commanded.

But then he stopped. I even lifted my head and looked around. I could have sworn I heard a baby's cries.

One look at everyone else, and I knew I wasn't going crazy. A baby was crying.

I looked and saw Maggie carrying something. Carl was following her, and so was…Jamie!

"J—Jamie. Jamie!" I tried yelling out. My knees went weak and I ran to her. She ran to me and I fell to the ground hugging her.

"Baby I love you. I love you so much. I'm not letting you go okay." I whispered. She nodded as tears fell down both our faces.

Just then a hand touched my shoulder. I looked up and Daryl was looking at us. He pulled us to our feet and held tight to us.

I then looked at Jamie…and Maggie for that matter. Why were they covered in so much blood?

"Baby, what happened in there?" I asked Jamie.

She started breaking down again and I kneeled down to hold her. "Lor—Lori went in—into labor and Maggie—delivered the b—baby."

"Then where's…" The look on Jamie's face answered my question.

"Oh, baby come here." I said, hugging her tighter. She cried into my shoulder, and I didn't blame her. I felt like crying too. We'd lost at least three people today.

Glenn went to Maggie who was trying to hold it together. And Carl just stared at the ground. Rick figured out what was going on, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. He started grieving right in front of us.

I held Jamie close to me, letting a few tears fall from my face, but she ran from me and embraced Carl. He didn't even flinch though.

I turned to Daryl and buried my face in his chest. This was just too much right now.

* * *

We returned to our cellblock, worn, drained, and emotionally dead. This day was supposed to be a good one, a day to build our new lives, but instead it turned into a day we'd remember as a death day.

I stumbled onto the mattress, not really feeling anything. I felt so…disconnected. It was the only way I could cope with the pain.

I had retreated so far into my head that I didn't realize Daryl was beside me. Cool water hit the skin of my arm.

I was brought back and saw that Daryl had a wet cloth over my arm.

"What're you doing?" I asked, not really processing anything.

"Cleaning you up. Making sure you ain't bit or scratched." He said quietly.

I just fell over and laid my head on my pillow.

"Hay, hay it's gonna be alright. We're still alive. Jamie's alive too." He said quietly, gently rubbing my arms with the wet cloth, washing away the blood, grime, and dirt.

I closed my eyes. "I could have died. Jamie could have died. T-Dog's dead because of me! And probably Carol too."

"Hay, don't start that. T-Dog's dead but it ain't your fault. It's the walkers' fault. They bit him. You couldn't have saved him if you wanted to. And don't say Carol's dead. She's alive and I'm gonna keep searching till I find her, or her body." He said, taking my hand.

I nodded and continued lying down. I was just tired…so tired.

"Daryl, please lie here with me. Please. I need you." I whispered.

He nodded, putting away the cloth and water. He then got comfortable and put an arm around me.

I turned over so I was facing him. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent. He was here. He was alive…and I…loved him?

* * *

I woke up a few hours later in the middle of the night. Nightmares of what had happened during the walker attack plagued me. I couldn't sleep, but I heard Daryl lightly snoring. On impulse I got up and sneaked from our little area. I wanted to check on Jamie.

As I neared Jamie's cell, I could hear crying. Not wanting to wake anyone, I refrained from calling out my sister's name.

I walked to the cell and listened. Jamie was definitely crying.

"Jamie, baby. It's Clary." I said, just loud enough for her to hear. I then walked into the cell. The moonlight lit the room up for me to see what was going on. And it wasn't good.

Jamie was sitting on the floor, her knife in her hand. Blood was running down her arm.

"Oh no no no no hunny. Shhh." I said, running to her and wrapping her arm up. I had to get the bleeding under control.

"Jamie why did you do this?" I asked, feeling like a part of my heart was ripping out of my chest.

"I—don't wanna—fight anymore." She mumbled through her sobs.

I hugged her tight, wrapping the wounds up in gauze. Thankfully she hadn't cut too deep.

"Baby, don't you do this to me—to Daryl—to the group. We need you. I know you didn't ask for this but I need you to keep fighting for me. I love you and you just gotta stay strong." I said as tears filled my eyes.

She finally nodded her head. "I'm sorry."

"It's gonna be okay." I said, getting her to her feet and lying her down on her cot.

She laid down and started shivering. I moved her over and laid down with her.

"It's gonna be okay. I love you. I'm not leaving you alone." I whispered, kissing her hair.

She held my hand and eventually we both fell asleep, utterly exhausted.

**Wow! I hope you guys liked this chapter! :D Also, I have an announcement... I have a youtube account, channel/UCmDZ0ae-0cCtXbVam_-FEqw and on it I've made two TWD tribute videos. 1 for Carl, and the 2nd one for Daryl ;) Check them out and let me know what ya think! **

**:) xx**


	4. Say The Word

**Ello everyone! I hope you've had a very amazing Christmas! :D I know I did! And OMG I cannot wait until the TWD marathon this New Years! Who will be watching? I know I will! ;) **

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know by reviewing! xx**

Clary's POV

I woke up the next morning, very cramped in the small bunk. I glanced at Jamie who was still asleep by me.

"Wake up baby. Time to get up." I said quietly, stroking her hair.

Slowly she opened her eyes and yawned out.

"Let's look at your arm." I said, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

She sat up and held out her arm. I looked at the wound and bit my lip. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but it still looked ugly.

"Well, the bleeding's stopped. But might need Hershel to look at it just to be safe."

She grimaced and searched for some clothes. "I don't wanna go see him."

"Don't worry. As far as I know, you tripped on the stairs and cut your arm open. See? Perfectly normal." I said with a hint of a smile.

"You—you're not telling on me?"

"Why would I? Jamie, I get what you're going through. You know this."

Her eyes widened in shock, then she nodded in understanding.

"Just promise me you won't hurt yourself anymore. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you're gonna keep fighting for me. Can you do that?"

She looked at me solemnly and nodded her head again.

"Good. I love you and so does everyone else."

"I love you too." She mumbled quietly.

I smiled and stood up. "Get dressed. I'm going to check on everyone else. Later, we're going to see Hershel, okay?"

She nodded and threw on a band t shirt I had given her one Christmas.

* * *

As I searched, I found that no one else was in the cellblock. Maybe they'd gone outside to the courtyard.

Jamie stepped out of her cell and together we went outside. Sure enough, we found everyone, well, everyone who was left.

Daryl was crouched in front of Rick. Had he been out here all night!?

"You with me?" Daryl asked, waving a hand in front of Rick's face. "Rick?"

The newborn baby began crying out. I looked at Carl who was holding it.

"Let me see the baby." Hershel asked.

Carl walked over to him, and Daryl stood up. He looked…intense?

"What're we gonna feed it? Ya got anything a baby can eat?" He asked.

I watched the baby. It was so tiny and pitiful looking.

"Good news is, she looks healthy, but she needs formula; and soon or she won't survive." Hershel assessed. So the baby was a girl?

I was about to say something when Daryl spoke up. "Nope. No way. Not her. We ain't losing anyone else. I'm going for a run."

"I'll back you up." Maggie offered.

"I'll go too." Glenn piped in.

"A'ight, think of where we're going. Beth, Jamie." Daryl commanded.

Beth and Jamie walked to Daryl who took them aside.

"Kid just lost his mom. His dad ain't doing so hot." I heard him mumble.

"We'll look out for him." I heard both girls say.

"You two!" Daryl called to the prisoners. "Get the fence! Too many pile up we'll have ourselves a problem!"

He then yelled to Glenn and Maggie. "Glenn! Maggie! Vamanos!"

"Rick no!" I screamed out, as I saw him grab a hatchet.

"Rick!" Maggie yelled out.

I could hear the baby crying in Carl's arms.

All of us watched as Rick took off inside the prison. I wasn't quite sure what he was going to do, but I had a feeling it would be violent.

On impulse, I picked up a crowbar and followed Rick. No one should go ANYWHERE alone, not after what happened yesterday.

"Get the gate! Come on, we're gonna lose a life!" I heard Daryl scream.

"Clary don't!" Beth called after me.

I paused and looked at her. "Rick needs to do this. He's grieving."

I don't know why, but that pissed me off. "His grieving could get him killed! I have to back him up."

"No, you don't." Jamie chimed in.

"You need to be here. You gotta look out for us." She nearly whined.

I stooped down to her level as Beth went to her father and Carl.

"How bout we compromise? I'll stay here a while, but around sunset, if Rick hasn't come back, I'm going after him. Carl just lost his mom, he don't need to lose his dad too." I offered.

She nodded and grabbed my hand. "Come see the baby."

Timidly, I walked over to where Hershel, Beth, Carl, and the baby were.

"Clary, would you like to hold her?" Hershel asked.

I nodded and bit my lip.

Carl, un-emotionally walked over to me and handed her to me. My arms molded to fit her small body and instantly I smiled.

She was so beautiful.

"Well, hello there." I spoke softly. The baby opened her eyes slightly.

"I see you." I cooed.

"Beth, come here." I spoke up, walking off to the side. Didn't need anyone else hearing.

"I know Daryl asked you to look after Carl, but I need a favor too." I nearly whispered. This was hard for me to ask.

"Remember at the farm, after we opened the barn and you tried to…commit?"

"Yeah, why? What's wrong?"

"Well, last night Jamie tried to do the same thing. Sliced up her left arm pretty good. If she'd gone much deeper she would've bled out. Thankfully I found her in time."

"So what d'ya need from me?" She asked, looking puzzled.

"I need you to watch after her. Maybe get Hershel to look at her arm. I know it isn't my place to ask, but maybe you could talk to her? She looks up to you and Maggie. But Maggie hasn't gone through what you did."

"I'll get daddy to bandage her arm, and I'll do what I can to help." She smiled.

I touched her arm. "Thank you, Beth."

* * *

Like she said she would, Beth told Hershel about Jamie's arm, but not about the attempting suicide part. The old man took Jamie inside, with Beth following him. Carl just stood there looking out as the two prisoners were securing the perimeter. I noticed Glenn walking back to us.

"You didn't go?" I asked.

"Daryl took Maggie on Merle's bike. Found this shopping center up North, but the road's too blocked to take a car."

I nodded.

"Carl, I'm going inside, but Glenn will keep you company for a bit." I said, trying to comfort the whining baby. She was starving.

"No, I'm going in too. You said Jamie was hurt right? I wanna check on jer. Maybe there's something I can do to help." He said, finally sounding like a human being.

"Okay."

"And I'm gonna start…digging the graves." Glenn stated quietly.

I left Carl's side and hugged him. "They're going to be just fine. And we'll find Carol. I know it." I whispered.

He hugged back. "I hope so."

Once Carl and I got inside I searched the food pantry for anything I could give this baby. She needed food and soon.

"Dammit, why don't we have any formula!?" I hissed in desperation.

The baby cried louder and I sighed.

"Hay, hay it's gonna be alright. No need for all this fuss." I cooed. It did little good.

Then I suddenly remembered a lullaby my mom used to sing to me when I was little. I only remembered a little of it since I was so young when she sang it to me, but maybe it'd calm the Grimes baby.

"Come stop you're crying. It'll be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you, from all around you. I will be here don't you cry."

The baby's loud cries settled into soft grunts. Guess the lullaby was working!

"For one so small, you seem so strong. My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm. I will be here don't you cry."

I settled on a cot and rocked the precious babe until she finally fell asleep.

"No need for crying. You've got family to protect you now." I whispered before getting up to check on my sister.

Daryl's POV

We managed to find a daycare before we got too far away from the prison. I warned Maggie to stay close and watched her back as she broke in. Walkers could be on our ass in seconds.

I got in through the window Maggie broke and looked around. baby stuff was scattered everywhere. The wall was covered in paper hands. One of them caught my eye…the kids' name had been Sophie…

For a moment I thought about Sophia, and how I'd let her down. That only made me more anxious to get the supplies back to Rick's kid. We weren't gonna lose anyone else. I'd die before I let that happen.

While Maggie gathered baby items, I searched the place to make sure it was safe. There could be walkers…or people…holed up somewhere in here.

Maggie appeared and signaled that she was going to search the opposite end of the place. I nodded and turned on my flashlight to search my end.

We then met up at the kitchen. Maybe we could find some food that was still good.

Then that cabinet started rattling. I hoped it was only a rat or squirrel locked in there, and not a walker. Maggie opened it while I aimed my crossbow. A possum hissed at us before I shot it. What could be better than fresh possum?

"Hello dinner!" I told Maggie as removed my arrow and picked the dead thing up.

"I'm not putting that in my bag." She told me.

Clary's POV

I used a portable cook stove to cook up some food for Hershel, the kids, Beth, and Glenn. After they ate, I was going to go down and get Rick. He'd been down there too long. And where were Maggie and Daryl?!

I thought the run would be quick…

It was already after dark, and that worried me most.

Baby Grimes woke up in my arms, most likely hungry beyond belief.

"I know, hun, I know. Uncle Daryl and Aunt Maggie are gonna be back soon. I know it." I muttered, mostly to myself.

When the food had finished, I told Hershel and Beth.

"Tell the kids. I'm gonna get Glenn." I told them, handing the baby to Beth. She took right to the child.

At the top of the guard tower, I found Glenn.

"Dinner's ready." I told him.

"Not hungry."

"I didn't ask. I'm telling. You need to eat. It's been a rough few days. You gotta keep your strength up. Maggie'd tell you the same thing."

"But she's not here!" He said, seeming agitated.

"But she will be soon. She won't like it if she comes back and you're too weak to even greet her." I told him.

He gave one last look at the road, and turned to me.

"Maybe you're right."

Just then we heard the sound we'd been waiting to hear—a motorcycle!

We waited until we could see the bike clearly before shouting.

"Guys they're back!" Glenn yelled to the prisoners.

I watched as the prisoners got the walkers away from the gate so that Daryl could come in.

Glenn pulled out a gun and fired.

* * *

We then ran inside while Maggie and Daryl gave us the supplies.

Carl was still holding the baby.

"How's she doing?" Daryl asked worriedly.

"Most likely starving." I told him.

I watched as Carl handed her to Daryl who did his best to comfort her.

Carl and I gathered around, while Maggie mixed the formula.

Beth took it from her sister and handed it to Daryl. He began feeding her and rocking her gently.

I smiled at the sight.

Daryl looked at me, smiling too. We weren't going to lose her.

"She got a name yet?" He asked Carl.

Carl just shrugged his shoulders. "N—Not yet. I was thinking maybe, Sophia…and there's Carol too…and Andrea, Amy, Jackie, Trisha…or…Lori. I don't know." He said, walking away from the rest of us.

It broke my heart to see the boy so sad. He'd had to grow up so fast.

Daryl didn't say anything, but commented on the way the baby was sucking down the formula. She was already almost done with it!

"You like that? You like that Lil Ass Kicker?"

I chuckled and Daryl looked around. We all agreed that it was a cute name for right now.

I then remembered that I needed to get Rick.

"I'm going to get Rick. He's been down there too long. Who knows what's happened to him." I told everyone as I grabbed a gun.

"No, you can't. It's too dangerous!" Beth told me.

"She's right. No way in hell I'm letting you go down there." Daryl told me.

"I have to! I can't just sit on my ass while he's down there, possibly hurt!"

"He's not hurt." Glenn spoke up. "At least when I was down there he wasn't."

"Why didn't you bring him with you?" Daryl asked.

"Rick's not all there. He grabbed me in a chokehold and I thought he'd chop my head off."

"That's why he needs us!" I explained.

"No, Clary, he needs to grieve. I was the same way after my first wife passed. He'll come around in a day or so." Hershel spoke in a fatherly voice.

I bit my lip and finally agreed not to go after Rick. Maybe he did just need time.

"Where's the baby going to sleep?" Maggie asked.

"With us." Daryl told her. And I agreed. "We have a little bit bigger bed she can sleep in till she gets a crib or something."

Daryl handed Lil Ass Kicker to me while he, Glenn, and Maggie went to meet up with the prisoners to go over what the plan was for tomorrow.

I took the baby up to our "room" and sat down on the bed with her to give her a fresh diaper. Oh joy.

After I disposed of the soiled cloth we used as a diaper until we had some proper ones, Jamie came in.

"Hay baby, you need something?" I asked my sister.

She shook her head and sat down on the bed.

"She looks just like Lori." She said, touching her cheek.

"She does. You want to hold her?" I asked, holding the child out to her.

Jamie took Lil Ass Kicker and held her.

I then started singing the lullaby my mom had sang to me as a kid. Jamie joined in and soon the baby was asleep.

"I didn't know you knew that song. " I told Jamie.

She chuckled and handed the babe back to me.

"You used to sing it to me. Was it something mom sang to you?"

I nodded. "She'd be proud of you, you know."

Jamie frowned. "I just wish I got to know her."

With my free arm I hugged Jamie.

"She looked just like you. Had your hair, and your eyes. I ended up looking like dad." I said, trailing off at the end.

"I've seen pictures of you and mom. You have her nose and smile."

The memories made me nostalgic. "Hay, I haven't seen any of your new pictures. Why don't you get them and we'll look at them before bed." I told her before I could break down.

She agreed and ran off to get her drawings.

* * *

The next morning I woke up to Daryl putting his boots on.

I rolled over, careful not to jostle the baby. "Where you going?"

He continued tying his shoes. "Visit the graves. Pay my respects."

"I'll go with you." I offered.

"No, stay here with Lil Ass Kicker. I'll be back before breakfast." He said, assuring me.

"Okay." I said, touching his hand.

Gently he squeezed it and touched the baby's cheek before leaving.


	5. Hounded

**Hay guys! Sooo yeah I spent a good portion of today writing this chapter :) I really hope you enjoy it! And I'd adore you forever if you left me a review :) **

**Enjoyyyy! :D**

I didn't get much sleep after Daryl left. Lil Ass Kicker wanted breakfast, and made sure I knew it!

"A'ight, a'ight I got your food. Just gimme a sec to get you changed." I told the grumpy babe.

"You sleep well?" I asked. Ass Kicker just grunted and made random noises in response.

"I slept good too." I told the kid, as if we were really having a conversation.

Just then Jamie walked in, dressed for today's activities.

* * *

We had breakfast late and it seemed to be a quiet affair. Beth took the baby off my hands for a while so I could eat.

I thanked the girl kindly and grabbed a bowl, filling it with some powdered eggs and oatmeal. Yummy.

I took a spot on the stairs with Daryl. He kissed the side of my head and mumbled out "good morning."

I returned the pleasantries, smiling, and went about eating.

But the quietness was short lived.

The door to the cellblock opened and there before us stood Rick. I let out a relived sigh; thankful he hadn't perished in the tombs.

He took a quick look around at us. "Everybody okay?"

Maggie answered. "Yeah, we are."

I was thrown off by how calm our leader was. He walked into the cellblock and stopped by Carl and Hershel.

He didn't seem quite right.

"What about you?" Hershel asked him.

Careful not to look at anyone in the eye, Rick responded. "I cleared out the boiler block."

"How many were there?" Daryl asked, curious.

"I dunno. A dozen, two dozen." Our leader answered, seeming catatonic.

"I have to get back." He continued. "Just wanted to check on Carl." He patted Carl on the shoulder and went to leave again.

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies. Y—you don't have to. " Glenn stated, rising from his seat.

"No, I do." Rick argued.

Suddenly, our leader charged over to where Daryl and I were. "Everyone got a gun and a knife?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah."

"But we're running low on ammo though." I chimed in.

"Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon. Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula." Glenn explained.

"We cleared out the generator room. Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well." Daryl told him.

Rick began walking away. "Good. Good."

"Rick, don't do this!" I called out.

"Rick!" Hershel yelled after me.

And just like that he was gone…again.

* * *

After Rick left…it was a shit storm. Everyone was freaking about Rick. Quite frankly I was too.

"He's not safe down there!" I nearly shouted over everyone's loud voices.

"He'll be fine Clary. Just needs time to grieve." Maggie told me.

One look at Carl, and I knew he didn't believe her.

"Look, he's going to get hurt or die if we don't step up and do something! Yeah, I know it's easy to do the normal stuff, take out walkers, fix food for everyone, bandage up the wounds…but what about when it comes to helping our own? It's like you all avoid those situations as if they're poison. Rick isn't a threat or, or a child who's throwing a tantrum! He is a grown man, who stepped up when none of us would and led us here. We're safe and alive because of him. He sacrificed his best friend for our safety, and he just lost his wife. He's in mourning and loosing his way fast. If we don't pull him back, we'll lose him!" I exclaimed, nearing tears.

I looked around the room. Everyone had gone silent. Daryl squeezed my hand.

"She's right. Hell, I wouldn't even be with this group if Rick hadn't convinced me to stay."

"So what do we do?" Glenn asked.

"I'll go down and talk to him." Hershel volunteered, hobbling to the door on his crutches.

"Daddy no." Maggie said.

"Oh stop you're worrying Maggie. It's Rick we're talking about. He and I have a lot in common. I may be able to reason with him."

The old guy got Glenn to open the door and within a few moments he disappeared outside the cellblock, in search of Rick.

* * *

Moments passed and everyone looked to Daryl for leadership. He thought for a moment before assigning jobs to everyone.

"Glenn, go check on Axel 'fore you and Maggie take off. Make sure he's a'ight." He spoke to Glenn.

"The rest of us, except for Beth, and Lil Ass Kicker are going to clear out the lower levels." He finished.

"I'm taking Jamie with me. We'll cover more ground if we spilt up." I told him. He scowled, but agreed.

"Ya sure?"

"Yeah. We'll take the west end. You, Oscar, and Carl can take the opposite side."

He nodded and touched my shoulder before preparing for our mission.

Glenn took off, but not before kissing Maggie and wishing the rest of us good luck.

I took Lil Ass Kicker from Beth and held her close. The baby coed at me and I smiled at her.

"Don't worry. Aunt Beth is gonna take real good care of you. You'll be safe." I told the babe.

I handed her back to Beth and handed her a gun. "I'm not sure how long Hershel's gonna be gone, but take this, just as a precaution."

"I—I can't take that."

"Yes, you can. Look you gotta protect that baby. Other humans may come across this place, and threaten us for it. You gotta do your part to protect the group, the baby." I told her, placing the gun in her hand.

She finally nodded and went to hug her sister.

I stood there waiting to go, when Daryl came over to me.

"Be safe." I blurted out.

He nodded and wrapped an arm around my waist. "You too. Need you to come back in one piece."

I rested my head against his chest. "You're doing the best you can, and I support you 100%."

He kissed my forehead and signaled for his group to go. Before leaving he squeezed my hand and gave me a crooked smile. I couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

As we started down our end of the lower levels of the prison, Jamie struck up a conversation.

"How do you do it?" She asked.

"What?" I questioned back.

"Stay so strong."

I was taken back by her question.

"Well, to tell you the truth, hun, I'm not." I managed to tell her honestly.

"But you are. You don't even cry or anything anymore."

"Hun, the first night the shit hit the fan, I bawled like a baby. And I cried a lot this past year. I wasn't built for this world, and neither were you. We just adapt. If adapting means crying, then go ahead and cry. But things get easier when you find a reason to keep fighting. Just remember that." I finished, shining a light into a cell. So far no walkers.

"What do you fight for?" Jamie questioned after helping me check a suspicious cell.

We continued trekking through the area, checking the cells.

"Well for starters, you. I know you've never had a good childhood, like I did. I guess I just wanna give you as much of a future as I can."

"Who else?"

"Well, there's…Daryl…and Lil Ass Kicker…and basically the whole group. We're like a family now." I told her, shining my light around.

"But mainly Daryl. You really care about him." She observed.

I felt my cheeks burn.

"Well yeah, I guess so. We have been together for a while."

"Don't lie. You looveee him." She teased.

I chuckled. "Now I wouldn't say that. But you are right, I do care about him."

We cleared out the rest of our section of the lower levels fairly quickly. Jamie was proud of herself for taking down three walkers by herself.

"When we get back, get yourself cleaned up, then we'll break into some of that stale chocolate we found." I said, tossing a hand over her shoulder.

She smiled and we walked back to our cellblock.

* * *

When we arrived, Hershel was sitting at a table, handing Rick Lil Ass Kicker. Quietly, we watched Rick embrace his newborn daughter. He seemed so emotional.

"Any trouble in the lower levels?" Hershel asked, startling me.

I shook my head. "No, our end was all clear. Dunno bout Daryl and his group. Ya'll run into any trouble?" I asked Carl.

He shook his head.

"We're just waiting for Daryl. He said he had something he had to do." Hershel explained.

A pang of worry filled me. "Then I'm going after him."

"Clary, you've been gone almost half the day. You're exhausted. Why don't you rest a while." Hershel tried to convince me.

"No, I can't." I said, making sure I had my knife. "Sides, I'm just gonna check on him; make sure he ain't hurt."

They finally consented and I took off in the direction Carl had said Daryl had taken off to.

* * *

Walking down the corridors, I could hear a rhythmic "clank…clank…clank", like something was repeatedly hitting a wall.

I followed it till the noise became quite loud. I turned a corner and saw Daryl, sitting on the ground.

He looked, pissed, sad, angry, and deep in thought. He repeatedly hit the ground with, what I guess was, his knife.

He noticed my presence and stopped hitting the ground for a while.

"Rick came back. I think he's gonna be okay." I mentioned.

Daryl simply grunted.

I squatted down to his level and touched his hand. "Daryl, you will find her. I know it. You just gotta have faith." I knew he was still extremely upset that Carol was missing and possibly dead.

"It's all my fault." Was his only response.

"How the hell is it your fault? You weren't even with her when she went missing! And you have done EVERYTHING in your power to keep this group together. And she would have wanted you to do that."

"She fucking trusted me, a'ight! And I let her down!" He growled. I didn't flinch away, but stared in his eyes.

"And she would have trusted you to look for her. Isn't that what you're doing? You haven't let her down Daryl. You haven't let any of us down."

He went back to staring at the ground.

"Merle would tell you different." He mumbled.

"And is Merle here? No. So anything he would or wouldn't say is irrelevant. What matters is that half of this group wouldn't be here without you, and Carol is counting on you to find her. And I believe you will find her, Daryl. Just have a little faith." I said, trying to get him to believe in himself.

He didn't respond, but grabbed my hand, holding it gently. I leaned my head against his shoulder.

I was surprised when he laid his head on top of mine.

We sat there in the quiet for the longest time. For some reason this moment in time felt so much more intimate than any intimate conversation or act of love. Daryl and I had a lot of those moments. It was weird, but I liked it since I didn't like talking that much.

Eventually we both lifted our heads. I stood up.

"I'm gonna head back to the cellblock. Told the group I wouldn't be long." I told him.

He nodded.

"Come back to us, okay? I—I'll see ya back at the cellblock?" I questioned.

"Don't worry. Might sit here a little while longer; gather my thoughts. I won't be long."

I nodded and turned to leave him. Sometimes ya gotta give people their space.

Daryl's POV

Clary left and if I'm honest, I wanted to leave with her. She made me forget all the awful shit that had been happening to us. She made me feel…better? I guess that's the word I was looking for.

But another part of me made me stay. I couldn't bring myself to face the group, knowing that Carol was still missing. Her chances of surviving…if she even was still alive…were getting smaller and smaller. I had to find her!

My agitation grew and I let it out by slamming the knife into the ground several times.

"Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale." I kept repeating in my mind.

The cell that was in front of me kept clanking weakly. It was probably a starved walker, but right now it was pissing me off!

Every few seconds it would clank open, then shut. My anger rose and I stabbed the wall in frustration before getting up and kicking the stupid cell door.

I couldn't see nothing but red as I started walking away, but I needed to do something. If I went back to camp this angry, I was liable to hurt someone; God forbid, Clary or Jamie.

I breathed out heavily and went back to the cell. I yanked the dead body away from the door and charged, ready to kill!

But there wasn't anything in there. I glanced around and no walkers were to be found.

I then looked at the ground, and couldn't believe my eyes. I lowered my knife and stared into the living eyes of a barely conscious Carol.

Without hesitation I grabbed her up and carried her back to the cellblock. She was probably dehydrated and starving. Hershel could fix her up and get her back to normal, hopefully.

Clary's POV

Rick wanted to take Lil Ass Kicker out for some fresh air, so we all joined him. Hershel hobbled along on his crutches, while Jamie and Carl followed behind him. Beth and I brought up the rear.

It actually was a pretty decent day out. Rick even smiled, which was a huge milestone for him.

"She looks like you." I heard our leader tell Carl.

Carl beamed at his words.

Then something caught Rick's eyes. He stared off at the fence along the South guard tower and scowled.

"Hay, just—you got her?" Rick asked, handing the baby off to Carl.

"Yeah." Carl said, looking at his baby sister.

"Alright." Rick mumbled, heading off to the fence.

"Rick, what's wrong?" I asked, hoping for a response.

He just held a hand out, signaling he'd only be a moment.

We all watched him walk to the fence, unsure of what he was doing.

I clutched my knife in my hand, as reassurance that if the worst happened, I'd be prepared. But was "the worst"? As far as I could tell, we were safe.

But I then looked harder at where Rick was staring.

Holy shit! There were two alive people standing at the fence, amongst the walkers. I was shocked they weren't being torn open by them.

One seemed to be a medium built black woman with dreadlocks and there seemed to be a kinda short tan guy. I wasn't sure if he was just tan, or of some Mexican descent, since the two seemed to be covered in blood and guts. Ick!

Neither of the two new people made a move as Rick stared at them. Would he let them die out there? Or bring them in?


	6. When The Dead Come Knocking

**Yooooooo! Hiya guys! :D Hope everything's going good for ya :) Since I had a day off, I decided to write another chapter for the story :) I hope you enjoy, and don't be shy! Drop me a review if you liked/disliked it :) **

Clary's POV

Rick didn't move for what seemed like ages. He just stared at the strangers and the strangers stared back. It struck me as odd that they didn't even speak, or try to get us to help them.

Suddenly Carl handed Beth the baby and took off running with his set of keys.

"Carl!" I yelled, running after him. These people could get spooked easy, could fire on us. We didn't need that.

Rick continued staring as Carl ran to the gate. He too watched the people. The woman placed her hand on her leg, then raised her hand back up to the fence, supporting herself.

A walker noticed her scent and started after her. She whipped out a sword and placed it through the thing's head.

The guy that was with her shot a woman walker and then began hitting his gun as if it were jammed.

"Should we help them?" Carl asked his father, then looked to me.

I bit my lip and ran towards the gate.

Carl fumbled with the keys, as the woman fell to the ground, seeming to go unconscious.

Two walkers descended on her and were about to kill her when Rick aimed his gun at them. The walkers fell dead.

Carl tossed Rick the keys to open the gate.

"Hurry!" I yelled. The guy who was now bashing walkers with the butt of his gun was about to be overtaken.

Finally, Rick through the gate open, going to the woman, who was the closest to the gate. He shot several walkers who were nearing us and went to the woman's aid.

I ran after the guy and shot the walkers that were surrounding him.

The poor guy just looked at me like I was crazy.

"Come on!" I screamed at him, running back to the gate, shooting more walkers.

The guy followed me and we met Rick, who was checking the woman for bites.

Rick found a gunshot wound on her leg and dragged her inside the yard. Carl ran after him, carrying…a basket? Okay.

I ushered the guy inside and quickly shut the gate before any walkers could breach our fences.

"Carl, get a blanket! Beth, water and a towel." Rick called out as he laid the woman down on the ground.

The guy went to go to his companion.

"Whoa, easy now. We're taking care of your girlfriend, so you best stay right there till we get this all sorted." I said, aiming a gun at his face.

For some reason, the guy seemed familiar. But I'm not sure where I could have known him from.

"They're not coming in the cellblocks." Rick stated, attempting to revive the fainted woman with cool water.

It did the trick and she was ready to fight as soon as she came to.

"It's alright. It's alright." Rick told her.

She started looking around and panicking. "Look at me." Rick said. "Who are you?"

She feebly started for her sword, but Rick maneuvered it away from her.

"We're not gonna hurt you, unless you try something stupid first, alright?"

The woman stopped fighting, and just stared. There was some…mystery, some intrigue about her.

The guy I had a gun pointed at just had a familiar face.

"Rick!" Daryl called out from the cellblock.

Rick turned and Daryl walked in, scanning the scene.

"Who the hell are they?"

Rick then asked the woman for her name, but she clammed up; refused to say a word.

"Y'all come on in here." Daryl said to us.

Rick stood up and looked to his right hand man. "Everything alright?"

"You're gonna wanna see this." Daryl told him.

Rick looked at me. I nodded towards Daryl.

"Go on Rick. I got this." I said, still staring at the guy. The guy looked away, I guess frightened.

"Alright. Go ahead. Carl, get the bag." Rick said as Hershel left the room.

Rick then picked up the woman's hella awesome sword. "We'll keep this safe and sound." He told her. "The doors are locked. You'll both be safe here." He finished, speaking to both people.

"And we can treat that." Rick said, referring to her gunshot wound.

But the woman refused to look any of us in the eye. "I didn't ask for you help."

I was shocked she spoke at all. Her voice was actually quite nice sounding.

"Doesn't matter." Rick told her, turning away and generally emanating his "I-Don't-Give-A-Flying-Fuck" attitude. "We can't let you leave."

Daryl took one last look at the scene before shutting the doors.

"I'd watch what I do, if I were you." Daryl warned the guy I was holding up. "If you even think about touching her, you'll be answering to me."

I smirked as I blew a kiss to my man. He smiled a bit and walked back inside the cellblock. So far, it was just me, and the two new people.

* * *

I took a seat on the table, making sure to still keep my gun ready. The woman just kept staring into space, and the guy kept biting his lip and seemed almost scared to move.

"You can move if you want. Not gonna blow your head off, just cuz you wanna sit down." I told him.

He sat down on the ground and looked around.

"Nice set up you got. You must be pretty safe." The guy finally spoke.

I nodded. "We made it safe. We spilt blood for it."

"H—how many people you got? From the looks, ya got a bunch with ya."

"Yeah, we got a few people. Had more, but like I said, we spilt blood." I went solemn thinking about T and Lori…and Carol.

"Now, you've asked me a few questions, I think I've earned the right to ask you some eh?"

He nodded. "Of course. A—ask away."

"First off, what's your name? Your lil friend here wouldn't talk, but maybe you will."

"Armando. That there's Michonne." He admitted. The woman scowled at him.

I was a bit shell shocked at his words. "Ar—Armando?!" I choked out.

He looked at me weird.

"Armando Lemus?" I asked.

He nodded. "How the hell'd you know my last name?" He asked, seeming even more scared. I was too happy/freaked out to care though.

"Armando don't you remember me? It's Clary. Clary Thompson. We grew up together, in Martinsville!"

Recognition dawned on him. "Clary?! The short shit who used to kick my ass at COD when we were teenagers?"

I nodded, daring to smile. He grinned from ear to ear and I couldn't bare it anymore. I got off the table and embraced him in a hug.

And all I could think was, "damn it sure felt nice to find one of my good friends alive."

Daryl's POV

I couldn't help but be less worried about what was going on. Clary had been right all along. She knew I'd find Carol, and I did.

I got everyone to come see her, everyone except for Clary. She was guarding the two people Rick had saved.

I bit my tongue at the thought. I didn't like the idea of her being all alone with those two. They could gang up on her and hurt her. But quickly I shoved the thought away. Clary was a smart woman, and I trusted her, maybe more than anyone else.

I watched as Carol weakly sat up and greeted Rick.

"Poor thing, must've fought her way into a cell. Must've passed out. Dehydrated." I told Rick. I couldn't be prouder. She was a real fighter. She'd come a long way from that abusive asshole of a husband she had.

Just then a small hand grabbed on my shirt. I looked down and Jamie was standing there.

"Where's Clary? She should know Carol's safe." The kid asked.

"She's keeping watch over the people she and Rick saved. We'll tell her later, alright sweetheart."

Jamie nodded and just smiled as Carol hugged her.

Then Carol went to the baby. And it was like fresh wounds being re-opened. Carl ducked his head, and Rick looked like he was ready to lose it.

The whole thing was bittersweet.

Clary's POV

Rick opened the cell door and allowed me to join the rest of our group.

"Clary, you gotta see who's here!" Jamie yelled out, grabbing my hand.

I let her lead me to a cell. I looked in and saw a very tired and filthy Carol. Tears sprang to my eyes; happy tears of course. She was alive!

"It's a freaking miracle!" I exclaimed, embracing my dear friend.

Carol smiled and hugged me back. "It was all Daryl. I would've died if he hadn't found me."

I grinned even bigger. "I knew he wouldn't let you down."

Our reunion was interrupted by Rick, asking to talk to me.

"Clary, you get anything out of the guy while you were in there?"

I nodded. "Actually I did. Erm, I kinda know the guy. His name's Armando, old friend of mine."

Rick took the info and processed it. "And the woman? You know her too?"

"No, I don't. Armando said he overheard her and some white girl argue about leaving a town. When the woman left, he asked if he could go with her. Her name's Michonne."

Rick then looked to Daryl, then back to me. "That don't explain why they had the formula."

And just like that he charged out of the room.

Daryl touched my arm and followed after him. I ran after the duo as they entered the cell where Michonne and Armando were being held.

"We can tend to that wound for you, give ya'll a little food and water, then send you two on your way. But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us." Rick told Michonne. She just stared at Rick in almost disgust.

"Michonne tell them. It's not gonna kill you." Armando told his friend.

"Your friend's right. And the next question is why were you carrying formula." Rick asked.

We all waited for someone to give us answers.

"The supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy, with a pretty girl." The woman finally told us.

"What happened?" Rick asked, not letting her know that the people she was talking about could quite possibly be Glenn and Maggie.

"Were they attacked?" Hershel asked hastily.

"They were taken."

"Taken? By who?" Rick asked, his hand ready on his gun.

"By the same son of a bitch who shot me." She spat with anger.

Finally Rick was done with the cat and mouse game.

"Hay, these are our people. You tell us what happened now!" He yelled, grabbing her injured leg.

"Rick!" I yelled, trying to pull him away from the woman.

"Don't you ever touch me again!" she screamed.

Armando yelled out too. "Hay man that's messed up!"

"Your friend here better start talking." Daryl stated, growing angrier. "You're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound!" He spat at Michonne.

"Find 'em yourself." She spat back.

"Stop it! All of ya'll!" I yelled, looking at everyone.

I then turned to Michonne. "We just want some answers. You can help us. We're not bad people. We protect our own. And if you have information on who took our people, then please tell us. Don't fight us."

She just looked at me.

"You came here for a reason; both of you did." Rick spoke up.

"T—there's a town!" Armando confessed.

Michonne glared at him, and Rick looked to both of them for the answers.

"Woodbury." Michonne said. "About 75 survivors. I think they were taken there."

"A whole town?" Rick asked. This was…unbelievable!

'Yeah, got protection and everything." Armando stated. "I lived there."

"That's where I met him." Michonne said. "It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor; pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type."

"He got muscle?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, real tough guys with lots of weapons." Armando told him.

The woman scoffed. "Paramilitary wannabees. They got armed centuries on every wall."

"You know a way in?" Rick asked her.

Michonne nodded her head in Armando's direction. "He does. The place is secure from walkers, but we could slip our way through."

Rick sorted through the hundreds of questions he wanted to ask before questioning the two any further. "How'd you know how to get here?"

"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, that it was a straight shot." She said as if it were obvious.

Rick then introduced Michonne to Hershel, who would treat her leg. Rick then led us back to our cellblock to have a group meeting.

Carl would be keeping an eye on Michonne while Hershel fixed her up, and Jamie would make sure Armando didn't do anything stupid.

"Jamie, he was a friend of mine, but that don't make him any less of a threat to us, okay?" I said, making it clear I didn't trust him.

"But if he was a friend, then he wouldn't try to hurt us, right?" Jamie asked, a bit puzzled.

I shook my head. "I haven't seen him since he and I were 17. That's been about 10 years. A lot of things could have happened; could have changed him."

She nodded in understanding.

"Be cautious, and use your instincts. I'll be back soon." I told her as I joined the rest of the group.

Jamie's POV

After Clary left, I sat on the table, making sure I kept an eye on this guy. However, a few minutes into this gig, I was ready to knock his ass out. He would not shut up for anything!

"Yeah, I remember you when you were just a baby. Your sister used to bring you over to my house to get away from your step mom. Told me how that lady used to hurt you guys. Must've been awful growing up like that." He said, trying to engage me in conversation.

I grit my teeth to stop the tears from falling. No one needed to remind me of that horrid witch of a woman who made my life hell!

"Don't you ever bring up my stepmother again, or so help me I'll cut your skinny lil gut open and feed your intestines to the walkers. Got it shit head?" I said, aiming my gun at him.

He went silent and I holstered my gun. Finally, some peace and quiet.

Clary's POV

"Clary, you said you know the boy, right?" Rick asked me.

I nodded. "But that was ten years ago. He could be a psycho now for all I know."

"We saved them, so they're our responsibility. We can't let them leave. They know too much to allow that." Rick said.

"How do you know we can trust them?" Oscar voiced.

"We can't, but we have to trust the evidence. Those two brought back everything that Glenn and Maggie went to get, and knew how to find us. We have to trust that." I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"Well, do we go after them? I mean it sounds like a suicide mission." Axel asked.

"But this is Maggie and Glenn. Why are we even debating?" Beth asked, seeming angry.

"We ain't. I'll go after them." Daryl said, stepping up.

"Well this place sounds pretty secure. You can't go alone." Rick told his friend.

"I'll go." Beth offered.

"Me too." Axel chimed in.

"I'm in." Oscar stated.

Finally I spoke up. "I'll go too."

Rick then looked around at us. "I'll go with Daryl. We'll take Oscar and those two in the cell. Beth, Clary, I need you two to stay here, same goes for you Axel."

"Rick, Maggie's my sister! I want to help!" Beth protested.

"You guys risk your lives too much. We both wanna help you." I told him.

"Carol's too weak to really fight on the front lines. We just got her back. Hershel can't move as fast as before, and we have three children here. I need you guys to help protect this place. If all hell breaks lose, we need you here." Rick explained.

I nodded, still wanting to go with the group.

* * *

It wasn't long before the rescue group was ready to leave. They loaded up the car with enough ammo for everyone and loaded Michonne and Armando into the vehicle.

Daryl was loading the last of the bags when Carl walked up, struggling with the final one.

He took it from him and told the boy not to worry. I smiled at the sight.

"He's really good with kids." Carol mentioned, holding Lil Ass Kicker. I nodded.

"Jamie loves him."

Daryl then walked over to us. "Stay safe, all four of ya." He said.

I nodded as he took my hand and squeezed it. I smiled a bit and embraced him in a hug. He returned the hug, nuzzling his face into the nape of my neck.

"Keep the kids safe." He whispered.

"I will. Just keep yourself safe too, and bring them back." I replied.

He nodded then pulled something out of his pocket.

"If something happens to us, and we don't come back, I want you to have this." He said, holding an old yet sharp looking knife.

"Daryl, don't say that. You guys will be just fine, and I can't take that. It's yours." I told him honestly.

"Bought off some Indian shop keeper when I was a kid. Claimed it granted the owner safety and protection." He explained.

"That's all the more reason you should keep it." I told him.

"I don't need it. Never worked for me anyway, but you gotta keep them safe." He gestured to the kids, Carol, and Beth.

Finally, I nodded and took it, and hugged him again.

He kissed my forehead before climbing into the car with Rick and the others.

I watched as they pulled out, and left the prison entirely.

Carol and Hershel came up beside me.

"It's a waiting game now." I muttered, already feeling anxious.

"That's the hardest part." Carol said quietly.

I agreed this was the hardest part of the whole day.

Daryl's POV

The woman with dreads and the boy got us to stop about two miles from the town.

"They got patrols. We're better off on foot." The woman said, grabbing her sword.

"How far? Night's coming." Rick asked.

"It's a mile maybe two. In that direction." The boy gestured to the woods.

We grabbed our gear and stalked off into the woods.

"You trust these guys?" I whispered to Rick.

He looked around, making sure there weren't any walkers around.

"No, but we have no choice. The second things look bad we kill them."

I nodded as we continued walking in relative silence.

But Rick broke the silence.

"I know what you did for my baby, while I was…working things out—thank you." He told me.

"It's what we do." I told him. Rick was a good man, and I trusted him to do the same if something happened to me. Clary and Jamie would be taken care of.

And that's when we heard the fuckers.

"Rick!" I hissed.

Rick commanded everyone to get down as a herd came through.

"Hold formation. No gun fire." He told us as he sank his machete into a walker.

But our kills weren't making a dent in the numbers. We'd get overrun.

"There's too many of them!" I told Rick, pulling out my knife.

He led us away from the horde into the thick of the woods. We found a cabin and regrouped in there. It'd buy us a little time.

But we couldn't ignore that rotten smell.

"That smell! It's loud!" I chocked out, looking around for the source.

"What the hell is that?" Oscar asked as we came up on a corpse. It was definitely an animal at some point.

"It's gotta be a fox, or what's left of one."

Walkers clawing at the door hurried our search for an exit out of this hell hole.

Rick signaled he'd found something in the bed. It could be a walker for all we know.

He lifted the cover and up popped some half crazed guy, screaming about us getting out of his house.

I stayed ready with my knife in case this nut case tried anything.

"I'll call the cops!" He screamed.

So this guy didn't know the world had ended?

"I am a cop!" Rick told him, lying only a bit.

He seemed to believe him and dropped his guard enough for Rick to disarm him. The guy struggled against him and got away, going for the door.

Without hesitating, the girl with the sword shanked the guy and his body fell to the floor.

I ran to the door and looked out at the walkers.

"Remember the Alamo?" I asked sarcastically, almost sure of what Rick was planning.

"Daryl, help me with the door." Rick asked.

By now, everyone caught on to what we were doing.

"That's sick guys!" The boy said, seeming grossed out.

"You gotta be kidding." Oscar said, trying to process what we were doing.

"He's dead! Now check the back." Rick commanded as we hoisted the guys' body up.

"It's clear!" Oscar told us.

On three we shoved the body out at the walkers who started eating on it before we could shut the door. The distraction worked.

We ran out the back with our gear and continued towards Woodbury.


	7. Made To Suffer

**Yoooooo what's up peeps?! Well, I just couldn't keep from writing this chapter. The next few chapters I'm REALLY excited to write about, and hope you guys enjoy them :) **

Daryl's POV

Night came by the time we got anywhere near the gates of the town. They were right. It was heavily fortified.

At least two to three men were on the top of the main wall. They had a spotlight and were packing heat.

We'd never make two feet in the open, guns blazing.

Suddenly that boy Clary knew ran off to the side, and so did the woman. Rick tried to get them to come back, but they didn't listen.

"Alright, we need to downsize." Rick commanded. We all took off our packs to grab only what we needed.

"Ain't no way we're gonna check in all them buildings, not with all them guards there." I pointed out. There were just too many. We'd get caught before we'd searched half of them.

Twigs snapped behind us. Rick and I whipped our heads around and saw the boy and the sword girl. The girl motioned for us to follow them. Guess they got us a way in.

"Alright, let's go." Rick whispered.

Sword girl got into the back of some store, at least that's what it looked like. She claimed Glenn and Maggie could be here, but I didn't see no sign of them.

"This is where you were held?" Rick asked her.

"I was questioned." She corrected him.

"Any idea where else they could be?"

I ran to the window and looked out. Damn it! There were people outside.

"Thought you said there was a curfew." I spat. I didn't trust this chick for one second.

"The street is packed during the day. Those are stragglers." She amended.

"It's true. Every so often guards come through to make sure everyone's in their houses." The boy told us.

"If anyone comes in here, we're sitting ducks." Rick voiced. "We gotta move."

"They could be in his apartment." Sword girl told us.

"Yeah? What if they ain't?" I spat. This girl better not be feeding us bullshit.

"Then we'll look somewhere else." She said coldly.

"You two said you could help us." Rick told her.

"Hay man, I just know how to get in and out here. I don't know nothing about where people could be held." Armando told us.

"Leave him out of this. I'm doing what I can." Sword girl hissed.

"Then where in the hell are they?" Oscar asked.

Rick got me and Oscar to talk with him away from Michonne and Armando.

"If this goes south, we're cutting them loose." Rick told us.

"You think they're leading us into a trap?" Oscar asked.

"The boy ain't got the guile to try anything, but the girl might."

"Right now it's the blind leading the blind. Let's split up." I voiced.

Suddenly we heard the front door open and shut.

"I know you're in here. I saw you moving from outside." The unknown voice called out.

"Alright now. You're not supposed to be in here and you know it."

We hid in the shadows and waited for the guy to come to us. He did so and Rick charged him, holding him at gun point.

"Shut up! Get on your knees!" He yelled.

Clary's POV

"Jamie, eat your dinner okay? You need to keep your strength up." I told my stubborn sister.

She frowned heavily and picked at the instant potatoes I'd given her. "Daryl said he'd be back."

I sighed and got on her level. "Yes, and he will be back. They're probably on the road back here right now."

"You don't know that." She spat.

"And neither do you. So there." I teased.

She smiled and finally began eating.

Beth offered to spend some time with Lil Ass Kicker while I cleaned the few dishes we had.

* * *

When I arrived back at Beth's cell, it was crowded! Carl, Beth, the baby, Jamie, and Axel were all in the cell.

Immediately the sight caused me to be suspicious. Axel was a little too interested in finding out details about Beth.

"Carl, you got things handled?" I asked him. He kept tapping the holster of his gun and staring at Axel intently. He didn't like what he was seeing either.

The boy nodded and I went to find Carol.

"Clary, is everything okay?" Carol asked me once I found her.

I scowled a bit. "I'm not sure. Axel keeps asking Beth loads of questions and keeps staring at her. I don't like it."

"I'll go have a talk with him." She told me as we walked back to the cell.

Once Carol took Axel out to speak with him, I walked in the cell.

"Carl, Jamie why don't you two go plan what we'll eat for breakfast tomorrow. I'm kinda tired of oatmeal and powdered eggs." I told the kids.

They left and it was just me and Beth.

"Thank you for helping me with Axel. I didn't wanna say anything, but he was creeping me out a bit." Beth admitted.

I smiled. "It was nothing. We look out for each other." I told her.

We stayed silent for a while.

"Have you ever had that happen to you before?" Beth finally asked me.

I looked at her puzzled. "Have what happen to me?"

"Creepy guy hit on you. I can't be the only one that's happened to."

I chuckled a bit. "Actually I've had that happen a lot! When I was about your age, I was at a Halloween thing at some church. My friend and I were waiting in line for some hot chocolate and a drunk pervert tried getting us to go back to his house for "a little fun"."

We both laughed at the memories. "But you don't have to be afraid. You got people here to stand up for you, and you're a strong girl, whether you see it in you or not."

She thanked me and handed the baby to me. "I have to use the bathroom. I won't be long."

I nodded and left the cell to check on the kids and possibly put Lil Ass Kicker down for the night.

I walked out, and saw Carol sitting on the steps, chewing on some jerky. I joined her.

"I was a lil hungry." She admitted.

"Thanks for handling Axel. Beth was getting really uncomfortable, and you're more of an authoritative figure around here than I am."

"No problem. He shouldn't be bothering you guys like that any more."

"So what'd he have to say?" I asked.

Carol chuckled. "He told me he was only making a move on Beth because you and Maggie are taken, and he thought I was a lesbian."

I actually laughed out loud, and so did Carol. That had to be the funniest thing I'd heard in a long time.

Daryl's POV

We heard gunshots coming from nearby. Possibly a house across the street or next door. We heard yelling as well, and used that to track whoever it was that had fired off those rounds.

Eventually we reached a basement/cellar and went in to check it out. It wasn't long before we heard harsh voices and saw armed guys. Whatever or whoever was in here, was definitely of value.

Rick craned his neck and spotted several of the guys coming towards us. Rick threw a smoke bomb which confused them and we grabbed the two people they were hauling out. If they were Glenn and Maggie, then we'd head back to the prison, no problem. But if they weren't Glenn and Maggie, we'd kill whoever we had and keep moving.

When we got outside, Rick removed the bags from the two people's heads. It was a blood covered Glenn and a shook up Maggie.

Rick led us to some food joint, and scanned the front for people who could be following us. I checked the back.

"Ain't no way out back here!" I observed. We had to get out of here before we got blown all to hell.

"Rick, how'd you find us?" Maggie asked, tending to Glenn, who looked really bad off. Poor guy must've taken a beating.

"I'll be alright." He said, putting on a brave face.

"Where's that woman?" Maggie asked, referring to sword girl I guess. I looked around and sure enough she wasn't anywhere to be found.

"She was right behind us." Rick said, looking around as well.

"Maybe she was spotted." Oscar offered.

"Nah, she had some beef with someone here. Wouldn't say who, but I bet she went to settle the score." Armando told us.

"Want me to go look for her?" I asked Rick.

"No, we gotta get them outta here. She's on her own." Rick said, looking out the window.

"Daryl, this was Merle. He did this." Glenn told me as Maggie threw a jacket over him. I just stared at him, not registering the words.

"You saw him?" Rick questioned.

"Face to face." Glenn told him. "He threw a walker at me. He was going to execute us."

I wanted to tell Glenn to quit lying. Merle could be a real douchebag most of the time, but he never murdered anyone. He used to say that a real man never murdered anyone unless it was self defense. Merle would never attempt to execute someone, especially someone he knew.

"S—so my brother's this governor?" I asked, my voice shaking. Maybe this world had changed him.

"No, he's somebody else. Your brothers his lieutenant or something." Maggie informed me. I still couldn't believe my brother would do something like this.

"Does he know I'm still with you?" I asked.

Maggie nodded her head like a bobble head doll.

"He does now." Glenn told me.

"Rick, I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out."

"Don't. No need to apologize." Rick told him, patting his leg.

"They're gonna be looking for us." Maggie said, as if it weren't obvious.

"We have to get back. Glenn, can you walk? We got a car a few miles out."

Glenn hissed in pain as he tried to get up. "I'm good." He lied.

"Hay if Merle's around, I need to see him!" I told Rick. He was my brother. Maybe I could talk some sense into the basterd.

"Not now. We're in hostile territory." Rick replied.

"He's my brother. I ain't—."

"Look at what he did!" Rick hissed, cutting me off. "We gotta get out of here now!"

"Maybe I can talk to him. Maybe I can work something out." I argued. Hell, this was my BROTHER! Why didn't Rick get that?

"No, no, no. You're not thinking straight. Look, no matter what they say, they're hurt." He said, gesturing to Glenn and Maggie. "Glenn can barely walk. How are we gonna make it if we get overrun by walkers, and this governor catches up to us? I need you!" Rick exploded, giving me an ultimatum.

Because I respected Rick, I thought about what he said, and he was right. The group came first.

"Are you with me?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah." At least I knew my brother was alive. Maybe if we lived through this, I could come back and talk to him.

* * *

We grabbed a few smoke bombs and prepared to charge out there like bats outta hell. On the count of three, we tossed the bombs and started for the wall. The town guards started firing at us and we fired back. The smoke shielded us for the most part; the bullets missing us by inches.

We made it to some brick building a made a stand on the porch. Rick screamed at Oscar, asking him about how many people were firing at us.

"Don't matter. There's gonna be more of them. We need to move." I said, reloading my gun.

"Any grenades left?" Rick yelled over the gunfire.

"Uh-huh!"

"Get 'em ready! We gotta gun it to the wall!"

I handed Glenn my gun and grabbed a smoke bomb. "You guys go ahead. I'm gonna lay down some cover fire."

"No! We gotta stay together!" Maggie protested.

"Too hairy. I'll be right behind ya." I told them.

Maggie fired off two rounds and I jumped out. I threw a smoke bomb to cover everyone.

They ran for it, while I found a spot to lay down fire. These people hurt our group, so we were gonna hurt theirs.

Glenn yelled when they made it to the wall. I shouted back that I'd be there soon. I just wanted to get in one or two more shots…

Clary's POV

Several hours had passed. I could tell it was closer to morning than night. I wouldn't be surprised if the sun started rising in a few hours.

Baby "Judith" as Carl had named her, wouldn't let me sleep a wink.

"Sweety, what do you want? I fed you, burped you, sang to you, changed you. Tell me what's wrong." I said, very wearily.

"If only I could speak baby…Or if she could speak English." I thought.

Quietly, I chuckled at my exhausted thought and picked the baby up. "We're gonna see papa Hershel, okay?" I whispered to the babe.

Once downstairs, I walked as quietly as I could to Hershel's cell.

I was surprised to find him awake, reading from a Bible.

"Hershel?" I asked. The old man looked up.

"Clary, what're you doing up at this hour? I figured you'd be sleeping." He said quite cheerfully.

I smiled and took a seat on the floor.

"I can't sleep. Judith can't, which is why I can't. I don't know what to do." I admitted, really feeling the exhaustion that had set in.

"Have you done the basics, feed her, change her diaper, burp her?" He asked.

I nodded. "I—I think I know why she can't sleep…and maybe it's the same reason I can't."

"Well go on."

"I dunno, it sounds stupid."

He just looked at me, waiting to here what I had to say.

"I—I think she misses Daryl. Since she doesn't have a crib, we put her between us on the mattress. Since he's gone, there's no one on her other side."

"That's not a dumb theory at all Clary. And that could be what's happening. She's so used to having both of you on either side of her that she feels weird not having Daryl around."

"What do I do? She hasn't slept all night and neither have I. I'm exhausted." I told him, hoping he'd have an answer.

"Use that battery run heater, and get one of the baby pillows we found warm. Don't get it too hot, but just enough that she'll believe it's the body heat from Daryl. Put it beside her and she should go right to sleep." He said, pointing to the heater we'd found last winter.

I nodded and did just that.

* * *

I woke up the next day to a bunch of commotion. I got up, grabbing Judith and ran downstairs.

Carl, Beth, and Jamie were staring through the gate to the rest of the prison.

I saw two black people. They spotted me and the guy looked right at me.

"We don't want no trouble." He said, pulling the woman away.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Beth asked Carl.

"I did." Carl responded.

I must admit, Carl seemed to be maturing a lot.

"What's going on guys? Who are those people?" I asked, rocking baby Judith, who was still sleeping soundly.

"They wandered into the tombs from outside. Carl rescued them from the walkers down there." Hershel responded.

I nodded. "Rick will decided if they can stay when he gets back."

Jamie went with me to fix the baby and I something to eat. Looks like today was already off to a bang.

Daryl's POV

I never got my final shot or two in at those fuckers. Somewhere behind me, I was ganged up on. The knocked me out and put a bag over my head. I didn't know where my crossbow, gun, or knife was, and I sure as hell didn't know where I was.

When I came to, I still had the bag over my head. I was in the back of some truck and two or three guys surrounded me, talking big and bad.

Quietly, I took everything in. Rick would realize soon that something went wrong and would come looking for me. That thought made this damned headache a little more bearable.

The truck finally stopped. I could hear cheering and yelling coming from somewhere. It reminded me of a theatre or arena.

The guys grabbed me up and walked me somewhere. The cheering eventually died down and I heard some guy speaking. It sounded like he was rallying the crowd. Other than that, I couldn't tell what was going on.

The guys continued walking me, keeping that bag over my head. For all I know, they could be walking me to my own execution.

Fear stuck me in the heart. What if I was going to be executed? What would the group do? This guy obviously wanted to destroy the prison. Would they kill Rick, and Glenn, and what about he women? Would he…would he rape them, make the guys watch then kill them?

The thoughts rolling around in my mind sickened me. But I kept a visual of Clary in the forefront to drive away the bad thoughts. I saw her smile, he bright eyes, her pretty hair, and even heard her pretty voice…until I was brought back to reality by the bag being lifted from my head.

I took in my surroundings, and saw Merle…my own brother, in front of me. He looked at me in confusion, but behind him, I saw Andrea. Had she been staying here the whole damn time?!

I then saw the guy who'd been rallying the crowd. He looked like some deformed pirate with his bandaged eye.

He asked the crowd what to do with me and Merle. All I could hear was them screaming for us to die.

I looked around, trying to find a sympathetic face, but didn't find one.

The guy who I guess was this governor we'd been hearing about, walked over to Merle.

"You wanted your brother. Now you got him." He said eerily.

I kept searching the place for a way to escape, but I couldn't see a way out.

The crowd kept screaming, wanting someone, or both of us to die…


	8. The Suicide King

Daryl's POV

The sounds of the crowd didn't relent. The two goons who had me, threw me next to Merle. If I'm honest, I'm not sure who I was looking at. Was that really my brother looking at me with…indifference?

My mind reeled, not wanting to accept the fact I could die tonight. Clary's face popped into my head. She was counting on me to come back to her. So was Jamie. Not telling anyone, but the kid had become like my own. I thought of her as my own. I had to go back to them…

This Governor guy walked around me and Merle like we were cuts of meat. I didn't like it and felt fear. Would he just gut us here in front of everyone?

Andrea attempted talking to the guy, but he kept staring at us.

"It's not up to me anymore." He said. "The people have spoken."

The guy then spoke to Merle. "I asked you where your loyalties lie. You said here. Well, prove it. Prove it to us all. Brother against brother."

My chest tightened and I again looked for a way out.

"Winner goes free." The Governor told the crowd. They got all riled up again, screaming.

"Fight, to the death!" He finished, walking away.

I looked at Merle, who looked back. Maybe we could work our way out of here. We've had our backs' against the wall before and we made it. We could do it now too, if I could just talk to him.

Merle looked at the crowd and started working them over.

"Ya'll know me!" He screamed. "I'm gonna do whatever I gotta do to prove…"

And then he wheeled around, sucker punching me in the gut.

I fell to the ground. Merle wasn't Merle if he was going to kill me just to prove something to some…asshole!

Pain, not from the punch hit me in the heart. My own family had turned on me.

"that my loyalty is to the town!" He finished yelling, dealing me a swift kick to the ribs. I thought I heard one crack.

_**WHAM!**_

Merle dealt me another set of blows.

"_I'm gonna die."_ I thought between the jolts of pain.

But I looked at Merle, and didn't see him in color. I saw him in red. I saw my old man, hitting me for the thousandth time for doing absofuckinglutely nothing wrong.

I felt all the hatred I had for him seethe out of me. Merle looked exactly like our dad, so it wasn't hard to keep the hate burning.

I landed a good punch to his fucking jaw, then got to my feet. The guys who brought me here were bringing in walkers. Shit!

Merle ignored the walkers and pinned me back down on the ground, probably ready to throw me to the approaching dead fucks.

I reached up, trying to choke him out.

"You really think this asshole's gonna let you go!" I asked, trying to find my brother.

A moment passed and I really thought I was a goner.

"Just follow my lead little brother. We're getting out of this, right now!" He hissed at me.

He threw me to my feet and we saw how surrounded we were.

At least half a dozen walkers were after us.

Without saying, we got back to back, punching the walkers that got too close to us.

We weren't going down without a fight.

_**BLAM!**_

_**BLAM!**_

_**BLAM!**_

_**BLAM!**_

Four gunshots rang out, killing two of the walkers that were after us, and some kid.

People screamed in fear and more gunshots sounded. Smoke erupted in the arena as well, confusing the crowd even more.

I smirked, knowing full well, Rick had come back for me. I knew he would.

"Stay close!" Merle warned me. We started making our way through the chaos.

But I wasn't worried about sticking close. I was worried about getting my damn crossbow back.

I found the black asshole who took it from me, whipping it right out of his hands. Merle gave him a healthy punch to the face.

"Let's go!" I called back, finding the exit of the arena.

We spotted Rick, and followed him to where he had the car waiting. Never had I been happier to see a cop before.

We made it outside the arena and started looking for a way out.

"They're all at the arena. This way!" Merle instructed.

"You're not going anywhere with us!" Rick told him. I remembered the two had a bone to pick with each other.

"You really wanna do this now?" My brother shouted back, beating in a panel in the wall. Guess that new arm he got was good for something.

"Rick, come on! We gotta go!" I told him, as we made our way outside the walls, killing the walkers that had shown up.

With the cover of night, we ran off into the woods, to the car Rick had waiting.

* * *

Dawn crept up on us on the way back to the car. By the time we got there it was early morning.

Glenn and sword girl were waiting there for us.

But Glenn stopped being thankful we were here, to angry.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Glenn shouted, his words directed to Merle.

Everyone started screaming, pointing their weapons at each other.

"He tried to kill me!" Sword girl screamed, aiming her sword at my brother.

I turned around and Glenn had a gun on me.

"Hay get that thing outta my face!" I shouted. The fuck was he thinking?!

"Man, look like you've gone native, brother." Merle taunted. Didn't he know when to shut up?!

"No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there!" I shot back.

"Oh yeah man. He is a charmer. I gotta tell ya that. Been putting the wood to your girlfriend, Andrea, big time baby."

So that was why Andrea was there?

"So Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn asked.

"Right next to the Governor." I told him.

Michonne or whatever her name was stepped forward.

"I told you to drop that!" Rick yelled at her.

He then questioned her about Andrea.

She clammed up, but Merle took the chance to run his mouth. If Rick won't in her way, sword girl would try to kill him.

"Shut up bro!" I yelled at Merle. Instead of getting answers he was riling us all up.

"So whatcha gonna do now Sheriff? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards." Merle taunted Rick.

"Shut up!" Rick yelled at him.

"Oh man, look at this. Pathetic. All these guns, and no bullets in them." At this rate, Merle was gonna get him or someone else killed.

"Merle, shut up!" I yelled.

This time he yelled back. "Shut up yourself! Bunch of pussies you—."

Rick hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Merle collapsed and Rick looked at me, judging if I'd go off on him.

"Asshole." I heard Rick mutter.

He was right. Merle was a right asshole, but maybe I could convince them to let him come with us. He is my brother after all.

Clary's POV

Axel and Beth mainly fixed some food for us and the new people. I didn't know much about these guys, but they seemed nice enough.

Jamie really liked the girl, Sasha; said she was really pretty.

"Beth, can you give Judith her formula? I'm gonna get the new guys' food ready." I told the girl.

She nodded and took the baby into the room where Hershel, the kids, and the new guys were.

Not two minutes later I followed, carrying two bowls of soup. Axel had the other two.

"How are you feeling?" The woman. Sasha asked Beth.

She kinda blushed and looked at me. "Oh, she's not mine."

"Where's the mother?" The pretty black woman asked. She looked to me.

"You the mom?"

I shook my head.

The woman got the idea.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, rejoining her brother at the table.

"Man, you people have been through the mill." Tyreese commented.

"Haven't we all?" Hershel responded.

I took the baby from Beth and told her to go eat. She'd been caring for the new people and the baby most of the morning. I also told the kids to go with her. They looked like they could use a break.

"It's only getting worse out there. The dead are everywhere." Tyreese told us. "It's only making the living, less like the living."

"You're the only decent folks we've come across." Sasha said, picking at her food.

"You've been out there all this time?" Hershel asked.

Ty then told us about them surviving in a neighbors' cellar. At one point they had a whole group, twice our size. They were from Florida.

"I appreciate you taking care of us. For a while, we didn't know who we were dealing with." Tyreese thanked us.

"Neither did we." Hershel explained. "We've had our problems with people."

"I must be the first brother in history to break into prison." The big black guy joked.

I smiled a bit, as I rocked the baby.

"Makes me the first white boy that didn't wanna break out." Axel chimed in. He just added to the humorous moment.

"Tyreese. Like I said, we have a much larger group. A close-knit group. I wouldn't get too comfortable here." Hershel told them, leaving the room.

"We wouldn't be a problem." Tyreese pleaded.

"It's not up to me." Hershel revealed.

Tyreese looked to me.

"Not my call either." I told him sadly.

"Then who?"

I didn't know how to respond, and Hershel continued walking away.

"Please, you can see what kind of people we are."

I stood up with the baby and went to leave.

"When the rest of our group gets back, you'll be able to plead your case." I told them, trying to give them a little hope.

Daryl's POV

"It won't work." Rick told me. He was being more stubborn than I thought he'd be.

"It's gotta." I responded.

"It'll stir things up." Was his answer.

"Look the Governor's probably on the way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks, and we could use the muscle." I argued. Rick couldn't lie that I had a point.

"I'm not having him at the prison." Maggie interrupted.

"He had a gun to our heads." Glenn spoke up. Now that it was daylight, you could see how bad Merle had beaten him up.

"Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?" He continued.

What the hell was he on about? Merle didn't hurt women.

"He ain't a rapist." I told him.

"Well his buddy is."

"They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night." They all knew that. As far as this Governor was concerned, Merle was a dead man. And so were we if we kept arguing about this.

"There's no way Merle's gonna live there without putting everyone at each other's throats." Rick finally spoke up.

"So you're gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai and her boy toy home with us?" I questioned.

"They're not coming back." He said quickly.

"The woman's not in a state to be on her own." Miss Farmer's daughter told us.

All of this would go over better if I could talk to Rick, away from these two.

"They did bring you guys to us." Glenn defended her.

"And then she ditched us." Rick reminded them, pointing the sword girl.

"At least let my dad stitch her up. Maybe Clary can talk to the boy. You said she knew him." Maggie asked.

"They're too unpredictable and Clary told me herself she didn't know if she could trust the boy; said she hadn't had contact with him in ten years." Rick said.

"That's right. We don't know who she is or what the boy's been up to. But Merle, Merle's blood." I told everyone, getting back to the subject of my brother.

"No, Merle is your blood. My blood, my family is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison." Glenn spat, meaning Maggie, Beth, and Hershel.

"And you're part of that family." Rick told me. "But he's not, he's not."

That angered me more than anything. They looked passed all the shit I'd done, and know I'm 'part of this family', but the minute Merle shows up, they act like he's a daemon from hell.

"Man, ya'll don't know." I spat. They didn't know shit about Merle and me.

Rick just looked at me, not changing his mind. Well, that made things easier at least.

"Fine. We'll fend for ourselves." I told them, more pissed off than I'd been in a while.

"That's not what I'm saying." Glenn tried to plead with me.

"No him, no me." That was the bottom line.

"Daryl, you don't have to do that." Maggie said quietly.

"It was always Merle and I before this." Why would they care? If they didn't except my family, then they didn't need me with them.

"Don't." Maggie begged.

"You serious?" Glenn asked, not believing me. "You're just gonna leave like that?

"You'd do the same thing."

"What do you want us to tell Carol?" Glenn asked, trying to get me to just leave Merle.

"She'll understand." I said. Carol had come a long way. She'd get why I had to do this.

"And Clary? You're just gonna leave her, and Jamie?" Maggie asked, almost angrily.

I thought for a bit. The pain in my chest started up. I didn't wanna leave them, but they'd understand it one day.

"Clary was just fine before she met me. She'll be fine now."

"No she won't. You leave with Merle right now and you'll break Clary's heart. She won't forgive you."

"They don't need me. Clary will move on and Jamie will forget about me. I gotta go with Merle. He's family." I finally said, done arguing with Maggie.

I looked around, and started walking away. I needed to do this. I learned a lot in the group, but Merle taught me the most. He mentored me, when he was around at least. Sometimes I couldn't stand him, but family was family. He broke us out of Woodbury, and I wasn't just gonna leave him.

"Say goodbye to your pop for me." I told Maggie.

"Daryl, are you serious?" Was that all Glenn could say? "Daryl!"

Rick caught up to me. "Hay, hay there's gotta be another way."

I just stared at him. Rick was a good friend to me, but if wouldn't take in Merle, then I wouldn't be coming back.

"Don't ask me to leave him." I admitted. "I already did that once." Guilt crawled up in me. If I had gone on that Atlanta trip, then maybe Merle wouldn't have gotten left behind and got mixed up with the Governor.

Rick kept following me. Didn't he get that pleading wouldn't get me to come back.

"We started something last night. You realize that? Huh?" Rick asked.

I knew it. We all knew it.

"No him, no me. That's all I can say." I told him, grabbing my gear from the car.

"Take care of yourself. Take care of Lil Ass Kicker. Carl. Jamie. They're tough kids." I told him.

"And look out for Clary. Tell her why I had to do this. Tell her…tell her not to come after me." I couldn't stop from frowning. I hated leaving them behind, but I had to.

"Daryl!" Glenn shouted for me. I just ignored him.

"Come on, bro."

Clary's POV

Carol and Carl were outside along the fences keeping watch, while Beth, Jamie, and I all did laundry. Hershel and Axel had gone in search of shovels for Tyreese's group to burry their girl.

"Maybe next time we go on a run, we can hit up a drug store for some nail polish. Haven't had the luxury of painting my nails since this thing started." I told Beth, making small talk.

She chuckled. "Neither have I. I kinda miss it."

I smiled. "It's a date." I said, dumping one of Daryl's bloodstained shirts in the washing tub.

The gate to the cellblock opened and Hershel and Axel walked in. The noise of the door woke the baby up and I went to her side.

"Shhh no need to fuss. You're okay." I cooed.

"Did you find the stuff for Tyreese?" Beth asked.

Hershel showed off a shovel he'd found. Axel held one too.

"Beth, why don't you and Axel take these out to our guest so they can bury the girl before sundown." Hershel told his daughter.

She got up and grabbed the shovel, walking out with the convict.

* * *

When the two had left, Hershel sat down at a table and watched me rock our group's lil ass kicker.

"I will protect you, from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry." I sang softly, attempting to get the child back to sleep.

"That's beautiful." Hershel commented.

"Thank you. My mother used to sing it to me when I was little."

"Your mother must've cared for you very much."

I bit my lip and stared at the baby. "Yeah…she did."

"You and Beth are very good with Judith. You two are doing a fine job of looking after her." Hershel told me.

I smiled. "Mom died about a year after Jamie was born. I was 13/14. She had cancer." The memories made me feel like crying.

"After she died. Dad, wasn't right; He stayed out late, slept with random women, worked late. Hell I wasn't much better. I went crazy. Drank, smoked, did drugs, went to jail, had sex, got pregnant. As soon as I got pregnant, I told my boyfriend, and of course he ran for the hills. Never heard from him again. Dad married some lawyer, who turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. I got bullied in school, would come home, take care of Jamie, then do what I could to make Sharon happy." I said, spilling my guts. "That was impossible. She'd accuse me of stuff, then get angry. She'd hit me, but her favorite was using me as her ashtray. She'd take her cigarette, use my arm to put it out, then re-light it a few times and do it again. That's where I got all the scars."

He just stared at me.

"After my boyfriend left me, I overdosed on abortion pills, killing my baby. Kinda ironic, since I've wanted kids before I even knew what sex was." I said bitterly. A few tears fell from my face. But it felt good to get this all out.

"You've been through a lot. I knew that the moment I met you. But you didn't let your circumstances define who you are. Sounds like you've raised Jamie since she was a baby, and she's become an important member of this group. That baby there is lucky to have women like you around to be a mother to her. There's no doubt in my mind she'll grow up to be an asset to this group, just like you are." Hershel spoke quietly.

I smiled at him. "I hope so."

* * *

Beth ran in to tell us that the group was back from getting Maggie and Glenn. Hershel, Jamie, and I (carrying Lil Ass Kicker), ran out to greet them.

Beth and Hershel ran to Maggie and Glenn who was climbed out of the car. I saw Michonne and Armando climb out too.

Rick walked up the path leading to the prison. He was holding Carol and Carl close to him…but where was Daryl? Where was Oscar?

Beth hugged Rick before walking her sister inside the prison.

"Rick! Thank goodness." I exclaimed, hugging him, and hading his daughter to him.

He took the baby and held her close. I ran to help Michonne inside since she was limping badly.

"Thank you." I heard her mumble. I smiled. "No problem. Thank you for finding my friends."

"Clary, wait, I need to talk to you." Rick called out. I stopped helping the woman, while Armando took my place.

The two walked in while I walked to our leader.

"Yeah?" I asked.

Rick just looked grim, but nowadays, he always looked grim.

"Is something wrong?" I questioned.

Rick sighed. "Clary, I—I don't know how to tell you this, but…Daryl and Oscar didn't come back with us."

Shock hit me like a sucker punch to the face. "Y—you mean they're—they're dead?"

"Not exactly."

"Then—then what? Rick, tell me what's going on." I demanded, panicking.

"We got to Woodbury, broke Maggie and Glenn out, but people started firing at us. Oscar was shot. Maggie had to put a bullet to his head to keep him from turning."

I bit my lip. "And Daryl? Rick, you're stringing this along, and I am not appreciating it."

"Daryl's alive. But he found his brother. This Governor character pitted them against each other to try and get them to fight to the death. We got them out of there. Daryl asked if Merle could stay, and I told him no. 'No him, no me.' that's what Daryl said." Rick told me.

I felt my knees growing weak.

"So—he—he just left with Merle? You didn't even stop him?!"

"I tried, but he wouldn't leave his brother."

I went silent. All my emotions were in overdrive.

"You're lying. You're lying to me. He made it back and this is just some joke or dream right?" I asked, searching the car for any signs Daryl was here.

"Clary, he's not here."

"He—he's—he's gotta be. He has to. He wouldn't just leave-he can't leave me." I babbled on, losing it big time.

"He told me to look after you and Jamie; said maybe one day he'd come back and visit you two."

I just looked at Rick. "I should've been there. I could've stopped him, brought him back with us—."

Rick laid a hand on my shoulder, which just caused my tears to turn into bawling.

I ran away from Rick and into the prison. Several people looked at me, but I didn't give a flying fuck! All I wanted right now, was for Daryl to come back. How could he just leave me and Jamie?! But I knew why. Merle was Daryl's only blood family. Daryl had told me stories of how Merle had taught him how to survive, how to endure beatings from their father.

I might have done the same thing if I were in that situation, and that thought hurt the most. I couldn't be mad at Daryl, even if I wanted to.

I ran up the stairs to the perch, tripping as I ran. I just needed to get it all out.

I plopped down on the hard mattress and bawled my eyes out. I could still smell Daryl's foresty/sweaty smell and I felt my heart break each time I took a breath.

"Why'd you leave, you stupid, stupid redneck?" I growled to myself.

"Clary…?" I heard a voice ask.

"Go the fuck away." I grumbled.

"Clary, Carl said you ran up here and were crying. What happened?" Jamie asked me.

I attempted to wipe away my tears and sat up. Jamie sat down and looked at me.

"Baby, Daryl didn't…come back." I chocked out, looking at the ceiling to keep from crying.

"He—he's dead? No he can't be! Don't lie to me!" Jamie said quickly.

"No, no, no he's alive…it's just…he…found his brother."

"So why aren't they here?"

"Rick wouldn't let Merle come back here; said he was too dangerous. Daryl didn't think he was, so he left with Merle." I said, feeling the tears fall.

Jamie just looked at me with tears in her eyes. They fell down her cheek.

"We gotta go get him. You can make him come back."

I shook my head, hugging my sister. "I wish I could but I can't." Tears fell down my face too.

"Can I lay down up here? I don't feel so good right now." Jamie said, looking like she'd died a little.

"Of course you can." I said, manuevering so she'd have enough room.

We laid down on the mattress. Jamie covered herself with the shirt that Daryl had left behind. I wiped away the remaining tears and closed my eyes, imagining that Daryl was lying beside me, that everything was okay…


	9. Home

Daryl's POV

"Ain't nothing out here but mosquitoes and ants." I told Merle, waiting for him to finish pissing.

"Patience lil brother. Sooner or later, a squirrel's bound to scurry 'cross your path." Merle drawled out. I rolled my eyes at his easygoing attitude. We wouldn't last a week out here if we didn't find some food.

"Even so, that ain't much food." I told him.

"More than nothing." He shot back.

"I'd have better luck going through one of them houses we passed back on the turnoff." I told him. We'd find more food and maybe have a place to lay low.

"Is that what your new friends taught you? Hmm?" Merle asked, taunting me. "How to loot for booty?"

I just stared ahead. I kept thinking of Rick…and Lil Ass Kicker…and…Jamie and…Clary.

Thinking of her made me wanna turn tail and go back to the prison, but I couldn't. Merle was my family and needed me…or did I need him?

"We've been at it for hours." I said quietly. My mind was still on Clary. Did she understand why I had to do this?

Maybe if I took Merle back to the prison, showed Rick that he wasn't a threat, he'd take him in.

"Why don't we find a stream; try our luck with some fish?" I offered.

"I think you're just trying to lead me back to the road, man; get me over to that prison." Merle said, seeming to read my mind.

"They got shelter." I admitted. "Food; a pot to piss in. Might not be a bad idea."

Merle just looked at me. "For you maybe. Ain't' gonna be no damn party for me."

"Everyone will get used to each other." I told him, trying to convince him to come back to the prison. If he didn't put up a fight and lost the damn attitude Rick might let him stay.

"They're all dead." He said, standing up. "Makes no difference."

That bit hit close to home. The last thing I wanted was this Governor guy to go in and kill everyone at the prison.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked.

"Right about now, he's probably hosting a housewarming party where he's gonna bury what's left of your pals." He said, spitting some old dip he'd found.

Pictures of everyone at the prison came to mind. If this Governor guy was as bad as Merle made him out to be, then there was not telling what he'd do to everyone. Most of the men, what's left of them, would probably be dead…and the women, kids…baby would probably suffer more before they…died.

"_Stop it. You're acting like they're dead already."_ I told myself.

"Let's hook some fish." Merle said, snapping me out of it.

I followed him, unsure if the choice I made was the right one.

Clary's POV

I squirmed about on the mattress. Something felt weird, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Eventually, I opened my eyes, hoping to figure out what exactly was different. Then a wave of hurt and remembrance washed over me. There was more space in the bed…because Daryl was gone.

Tears sprang to my eyes and I wanted to just curl back up and sleep for the rest of my life, but I couldn't.

This group needed me to pull my weight. Jamie needed me to be strong for her.

My mind then went to my little sister. Where was she? I remembered her lying down with me last night, but today she was nowhere to be found.

I stretched out and laid a hand on the shirt…Daryl…had left behind. For a moment I pressed it to my face, inhaling the fading scent of him.

"_I've gotta move on." _I kept thinking.

Reluctantly, I laid the piece of clothing down and found my own clothes. I dawned them, put on my shoes, and grabbed my knife. Brushing my hair, I wiped the sleep from my eyes. Ready for the day.

* * *

Once I got downstairs, I found Jamie, Beth, and Carol. Jamie smiled and told me she'd saved me some breakfast.

"Good, cuz I'm about to starve." I said, digging into the powdered eggs and oatmeal.

"Morning, Clary." Carol greeted. "Or should I say, afternoon."

I blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, guess I overslept."

"Carol and Beth made Lil—A, I mean Judith, a baby box to sleep in. They came in last night and put it in your room." Jamie informed me.

I finished chewing the food in my mouth before talking again. "Actually, uh, I'm gonna need your help Jamie. Need to move my things to the cell between yours and Beth's. Don't feel like staying in the perch any more." I drifted off, beginning to think of…Daryl.

Carol gave me a sympathetic look. "It's okay. We all miss him."

"It don't do us a bit of good. He made his choice." But deep down, I knew for a fact I still cared about him, no matter how much pain he caused me.

"So, did I miss anything last night? Where's everyone?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"You missed a lot." Jamie told me.

"Yeah?"

"Rick talked to Tyreese and his group; thought he was gonna let them stay. Then he—he went crazy. Pulled a gun out, I thought he was going to kill someone." Carol told me.

"Tyreese and them left right after that. I haven't seen Rick since last night." Beth chimed in.

"Holy shit! Is everyone okay?" I asked.

"We're all in one piece, so I guess yeah." Jamie said.

"And Rick? Is he still wandering crazy town?"

Carol nodded.

"He might have killed someone last night, but he's semi stable now. Who knows how long that'll last?" Beth finished.

I couldn't believe it. Guess the pressures of leading us all winter were getting to him.

"Clary, you passed out early last night, so I don't know how much you know; but when Rick and Daryl went to get Glenn and Maggie they ran into trouble." Carol said, breaking the silence.

"What kind of trouble?" I asked, trying to hide the pain of losing someone I cared about so much.

"This Governor guy captured Daryl, pitted him against Merle. Told them to fight to the death. Rick broke them out before they killed each other."

"So you're telling me that he almost died before leaving with his brother?" I asked, feeling the pain of him leaving afresh.

"Yes, but that caused bigger problems, problems that could put us in danger."

I waited for her to explain.

"The Governor's more than likely coming here. He wants us gone, and will do anything he can to make us leave."

"But we can't leave! We lost Lori, and the others trying to take this place. We wouldn't last a day out there again." I said, freaking out. Couldn't our two groups work something out?

"Guys," Axel spoke up, wringing his hands. "Glenn wants us. Says we gotta have a meeting."

We got up from the table and followed Axel. I carried the baby with me, feeding her. Wonder what Glenn wanted?

* * *

We walked into the front of the cellblock and Glenn was drawing on the ground. It looked like a map.

"Glenn, what's going on?" I asked.

He ignored me.

"Right," he said, finishing the drawing. Carl was crouched beside him.

"Now, you said you found Tyreese's group here?" He asked the boy.

"Yeah."

"We secured this." Glenn told him.

I freaked a little because I knew it was supposedly secured as well. That was where Hershel lost his leg.

"He thought he came through here." Carl said, pointing to another portion of the map of the prison.

"Means there's another breach." Glenn said. Poor guy had all this shit thrown on him.

"The whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men."

"Why are we even so sure he's gonna attack?" Beth questioned. "Maybe you scared him off."

"He had fish tanks full of heads. Walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming." Michonne said so eerily that we all listened.

"The Governor's sick man. He'll chop all the men into little pieces then give the women to his men. They'll wanna be dead by the time he and his men are done with them." Armando said, obviously scared.

Glenn got quiet for a while. "We should hit him now."

"What?" Beth asked.

"You're fucking mental." I told him. Baby Judith seemed to sense something was up. She was acting restless.

"He won't be expecting it. We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head." Glenn told us, seeming enthusiastic about eliminating our newest threat.

"We're not assassins." Carol stated.

Glenn got up and walked up to Michonne and Armando. "One or both of you know where his apartment is."

"I do." Michonne told him.

"You and I can end this tonight." He told her. He seemed absolutely certain this was the right choice.

Michonne looked away, not as sure as our impromptu leader.

"I'll do it myself." He added.

Finally she nodded

"Okay." Glenn said, feeling good about this plan. I wasn't so sure of that though.

"Glenn, maybe you should take some time to think it over. Things could get even uglier than last time. We can't afford to lose anymore people." I said quietly. Maybe I was just paranoid, but I didn't feel good about him going to kill the guy.

Glenn wheeled around and looked at me. "How much time, Clary? Till, Rick stops acting crazy? Till your boyfriend comes back with his brother who, might I add, beat me and brought my girlfriend to a guy who would have raped her!"

"You best stop bringing up Daryl! He has nothing to do with what happened to you or Maggie!" I spat back at the angry man.

"That's right, he doesn't. But because of him, we're short on man power and Oscar's dead."

"That's not his fucking fault and you know it!" I yelled, tears filling my eyes. Beth came beside me and took the baby. I didn't realize I'd been shaking.

Glenn just stared at me.

"Glenn, calm down for a minute. She has a point. The Governor didn't know you were coming last time, and look what happened? You were almost killed. Daryl was captured. And you and Maggie were almost executed." Hershel spoke up.

"You can't stop me." Glenn said coldly.

I didn't see Glenn anymore. He was just a shell of him, full of anger and pain. I shouldn't have yelled at him, but he needed to stop before he got people killed.

"Rick would never allow this." Hershel said, standing his ground.

"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?"

"Think this through clearly. T-Dog lost his life here, Lori too; the men that were here. It isn't worth any more killing." Hershel told him.

"Glenn, he's right. We can leave today and put some distance between us and here before night." I said, trying to calm down. I didn't want to leave this place, but if it was the safest choice, then I'd take it.

"What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now." Hershel backed me up.

"And go where?" Glenn spat.

"We lived on the road all winter."

"Back when you had two legs. Daryl hadn't abandoned us, Rick hadn't gone crazy, and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours."

"We can't stay here." Hershel argued.

"We can't run." Glenn told him.

Glenn noticed Maggie, who was watching the fight between her boyfriend and her father. Fed up, she walked away to the cells. She seemed hurt.

Glenn finally seemed to think clearly. "Alright. We'll stay put. We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand."

Hershel nodded, adding his consent.

"Carl, you and I will go down to the tombs. We need to figure out where the breach is."

"You got it." Carl told him.

"You're gonna need some help." Michonne stated.

"Yeah, count me in." I said, wanting to help keep our home safe.

"No," Glenn protested. "In case anything happens, I need you two out here. You're both good shots and if the Governor's on his way, I'm counting on you to help defend us."

I bit my lip, fighting the urge to say something. I didn't wanna just sit on my ass. And really I wasn't sure how much I trusted Glenn's judgment. He was so hell bent on bringing this Governor down. He could get someone killed.

Glenn looked around at us. "Who's on watch?"

I glanced around the room. Everyone was in here except for Maggie and…Rick.

Glenn stood up, cursing as he walked out of the room. Guess he was going to find our leader.

* * *

Everyone dispersed and I went with Jamie to move my things.

"Why you moving, Clary? You got more room up here than in a cell."

I sat down on my mattress and started sorting through my things, separating mine from…Daryl's.

"Exactly. It's too big for me now. Plus, there's a lot of history here. I don't wanna face it." I said

She thought for a moment. "I miss him too. Wish he'd come back."

I pursed my lips and frowned as I separated my stuff from Daryl's. Maybe one day he'd come back for it all.

"Knock, knock." Someone called out.

I whipped my head around and saw Armando walking in.

"Oh hay." I said, going back to my work.

"Hay, wow ya'll've been busy. What's the occasion?" He asked, joking.

I actually chuckled, like in the old days.

"Moving." I said, remembering all the shit that led to me doing this . "Need to downsize."

"Oh. Well do you need any help?" he asked.

"Actually yeah. That'd be great." I admitted.

Armando looked around, grabbing up a pile of Daryl's clothing, obviously unsure of what to take.

"No, not those. Daryl's stuff stays here." I said quickly.

He sat the clothes down and grabbed Lil—Judith's, baby box.

"Daryl, was he—?" Armando dared to ask.

I took a breath before answering.

"He went with Rick to get two of our people back from the Governor and got captured. Rick got him out and he found his brother, Merle. He left with him. He left me and everyone else in this prison to fend for ourselves. I can't look at any of this, " I gestured to most of his stuff. "Without wanting to break down. There's too much heartache here." I finished, tearing up.

He seemed to understand, for he didn't ask any more questions.

_I just have to get over him_, I told myself.

* * *

After Jamie, Armando, and I took my gear to my cell, we started helping fortify this place against the Governor's crew. If they were coming, we had to be ready.

"They're looking awful cozy ain't they?" Armando said, pointing to where Carol and Axel were.

I saw Carol and Axel talking by the fences. Carol was actually smiling. It was nice to see that.

"That's good though. She deserves to be happy." I said, remembering how far she'd come from the scared, abused woman she was a year ago.

"You do too." I heard Armando mumble.

I sighed as I moved a crate in front of the fence.

"She was happy with Daryl. He made her smile." Jamie told him.

I could feel the still fresh wounds on my heart open up.

"Alright, that's enough. I don't wanna talk about it." I told them honestly.

They went back to helping secure the place.

Before anyone could see, I wiped away the few stray tears that had fallen.

Damn you Dixon.

Daryl's POV

"Smells to me like the Sawhatchee Creek." Merle said, walking ahead like he was some damn bloodhound.

"We didn't go west enough." I told him. "There's a river down there, it's gotta be the Yellow Jacket."

"You have a stroke boy? We ain't never even come close to Yellow Jacket." He argued.

"We didn't go west, just a lil bit south. That's what I think." I said, hoping to shut him up before walkers found us.

"You know what I think?" he scoffed. "I may have lost my hand, but you lost your sense of direction."

"Yeah, we'll see." I grumbled.

"I bet you a hot steak dinner, burying yourself in that bitch Clary's pussy made you soft lil brother."

"Why you gotta bring her into this? I'm here with you. She's a good woman." I said, trying not to lose my temper.

"Listen boy." He said, stopping me. "The only good woman you need is one who fucks you real nice, and when shit hits the fan, she's standing there with a shotgun."

"Clary's like that." I told him.

"Take a look around you. She ain't here."

"That's cuz I didn't get to go back for her."

"If she really loved you lil brother, she'd be out in these woods looking for you." Merle said, getting in my face.

"No, you're wrong. She's helping to protect the group. And she's got a kid sister." I told him.

I remembered the time I took Jamie hunting for the first time. She'd been covered in blood and sweat, helping me drag the kills back to camp. It made me miss the people back at the prison.

Merle walked away, looking ahead.

"What you wanna bet?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"What you wanna bet that creek's the Sawhatchee?"

"Don't wanna bet nothing." I told him. "It's just a body of water. Why's everything gotta be a competition with you?"

"Whoa, whoa. Take it easy lil brother. Just trying to have a lil fun here."

I rolled my eyes.

"No need to get your panties in a bundle." He finished.

"D'ya here that?" I asked. I thought I heard someone crying.

"Yeah, wild animals getting wild." He said, as if he enjoyed picturing that.

I heard it again. This time, I was sure that it was a baby crying.

"No, it's a baby." I told my idiot brother. I'd spent the better half of a week hearing a baby cry. I know what one sounds like.

"Oh, come on. Why don't ya just piss in my ear and tell me it's raining too? That there's the sound of a couple coons making love, sweet love. Know what I mean?"

I barely paid any attention to Merle. I was too busy trying to track that baby.

Merle laughed, but followed me to the river. On the bridge, there were people. Sounded like they were in trouble.

I started walking to the bridge to help them. I wasn't gonna have a dead baby on my conscience.

"Hay man. I ain't wasting my bullets for a couple of strangers that ain't never cooked me a meal or felicitated my piece. That's my policy. You'd be wise to adopt it brother." He called after me.

I didn't care what my brother would or wouldn't do. Helping those people is what Rick would do. Glenn would too…and so would Clary.

* * *

When I got to the bridge, things were bad. A little over a dozen walkers were after these guys.

I aimed my bow at one who was about to make one guy walker chow. The two guys stared at me as I took out another walker. I took the arrow out, and aimed it through the head of another. Damn these things were all over the place!

"Come on man! I'm trying to help you out! Cover me!" I yelled to the two yahoos on the semi bed.

The one jumped down and started firing off his gun.

I took out the two walkers by the car and smashed a third's head in with the trunk.

"Daryl! I got ya!" Merle shouted. I wouldn't admit it, but I was glad the asshole was here.

"Go!" he yelled.

I ran to one of the guys we'd helped and re loaded my bow. The guy started babbling in some other language.

"Speak English!" I yelled.

He continued yelling in his language and fired off his gun.

He stepped back and walkers surrounded him. I took out two with my bow, but the third was too close to the guy. I'd risk killing him if I shot my bow. I dropped the weapon and brought out my knife.

I stabbed the some bitch's head and kicked him over the edge of the bridge.

When I went to find Merle, he was by the car. He opened it and the guy I'd just saved started shouting at him. Merle then aimed a gun at the guy.

"Slow down beaner." He said. "That ain't no way to say thank you." I walked around the other side of the car. Things could get ugly if Merle did something stupid.

"Let 'em go." I told him. These guys were harmless.

"Relax." He said, putting his gun away. "The least they can do is give us an enchilada or something, huh?"

He went back to digging through the car.

"Get out of the car." I told Merle, aiming the crossbow at him.

"I know you're not talking to me, brother." He threatened, slowly getting out.

I turned to these Mexicans. "Get in your car and get the hell outta here!"

They just looked at us. "Go! Get in your car!"

The guys ran for the car and drove away. Merle just glared at me.

He tried moving my bow, but I didn't let him. I lowered it when I was ready.

I showed him I wasn't the same scared kid who needed his big brother to do everything anymore.

I grabbed my bag and a stray arrow. Walking away, I saw the sign that said this was the Yellow Jacket. I'd been right all along.

"Hay!" Merle yelled at me, trying to keep up. "The shit you doing, pointing that thing at me?"

"They were scared man." I told him.

I'd never admit it, but I was glad the baby and mother were safe.

"They were rude is what they were." Merle growled. "Rude, and they owed us a token of gratitude."

"They didn't owe us nothing." Didn't he think of anyone other than himself? Of course not. I knew that, but since coming back with him, he seemed even more self-centered.

"You helping people out of the goodness of your heart? Even though you might die doing it? Is that something your Sheriff Rick taught you?" He nagged on.

"There was a baby!" I shouted, loosing it.

"Oh otherwise, you would have just left them to the biters, then?" He asked.

I knew he wasn't talking about the guys we'd just saved.

"Man, I went back for you! You weren't there!" I said, raising my voice. "I didn't cut off your hand, neither. You did that! Way before they locked you up on that roof! You asked for it." I yelled. I was sick of him. I was sick of the person he was. I didn't want to be around him anymore. I realized how much being with Rick's group changed me.

He just looked at me. I guess the cat finally got his tongue.

"You know—you know what's funny to me? You and Sheriff Rick are like this now." He said, crossing his fingers. "Right? I bet you a penny and a fiddle of gold that you never told him that we were planning on robbing that camp blind."

"It didn't happen." I spat.

I never wanted to rob the camp in the first place. Merle did. He just wanted me to help him. I hated Shane and wasn't close to anyone so I didn't feel bad about agreeing to it at the time. But things changed.

"Yeah, it didn't. Cuz I wasn't there to help you."

No Merle, you're wrong.

"What, like when we were kids, huh? Who left who then?" I asked, getting in his face. It was like yelling at my old man.

"What? Huh? Is that why I lost my hand?" He shouted, showing me his stump.

"You lost your hand cuz you're a simpleminded piece of shit!" I never realized how true that was about him.

"Yeah? You don't know!" He shouted, grabbing me by surprise and throwing me down on the ground.

I heard my shirt rip and he let go of me. I knew what he was staring at. I tried fixing the worn clothing, but it was too ruined. I grabbed my bag and put it over my back to cover the scars. I didn't need to be reminded of what happened to me as a kid.

"I—I—I didn't know he—he was—." He stuttered.

"Yeah, he did." I cut him off. He had to know because… "He did the same to you." I said, trying not to feel the hurt that I did when I thought about the past.

I grabbed my things, and made up my mind. I was going back to the prison, with or without Merle. It was where I belonged. It was where my—my family was. I answered the question I'd been asking myself for a while. I didn't need Merle; not anymore at least.

"That's why you left first."

"I had to man. I would have killed him otherwise." He told me. I knew that wasn't bullshit, but it still didn't change my mind.

I got up and started towards the prison.

"Where you going?" He asked.

"Back where I belong." I hadn't had a place like that before and I had been stupid to leave it.

"I can't go with you." He called out. "I tried to kill that black bitch. Damn near killed the Chinese kid."

That did it for me. "He's Korean!"

"Whatever. Don't matter man. I just can't go with you."

And that was fine by me. He'd never really been there for me when the shit hit the fan. The group at the prison had.

I'd only gone with Merle in hopes of finding the old Merle, the Merle before he ran away from home as a teenager. I hadn't seen that Merle since I was a kid.

"You know, I may be the one walking away, but you're the one that's leaving…again."

Clary's POV

We went inside after fortifying the place, walking to my cell to get some water and just think. I hadn't had a lot of time to do that today.

"I'm gonna see if Carl wants some water." Jamie told me.

I nodded and sent her off, plopping down on my bed.

Searching through the bag I had, I grabbed my old ipod, and a cigarette.

Surprisingly, I'd been able to keep my ipod running all this time by charging it up with a car charger. I was happy it had a full battery and shuffled through the songs.

I settled on _Nothing Left To Lose_ by The Pretty Reckless and lit up my cigarette.

I just laid there, listening to the music play. It reminded me of the days before all this. I remembered—shit, come to think of it, I didn't have many good memories before the world ended.

I saw someone walk by my cell and backtrack to look in.

"Oh hay, Clary, have you seen Glenn? I wanted to ask him something." Armando asked.

"He left. Should be back soon though." I told him, taking a drag from the cigarette.

"You know those damn cigarettes will kill ya." He teased.

"I thought all the health professionals died." I joked back.

He walked in the cell and I sat up.

"You mind if I smoke one?" he asked.

I pulled one out of my bag and gave it and the lighter to him. He lit it up and handed the lighter back to me.

"Thought you quit smoking when we were kids." I reminded him.

"Come on. The world ended. I think that calls for a smoke." He joked.

I laughed a bit and blew out some smoke. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For not asking questions about me, and Daryl; for trying to cheer me up." I admitted.

"Hay, now don't start crying." He said kindly, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

Relaxing, I rested my head on his shoulders. A few tears slipped out.

"I miss him so much." I whispered.

"I know you do. But he's gone. You gotta be strong for Jamie, and for yourself." He said, leaning his head close to mine.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with how close we were, I pulled my head up and stubbed out my cigarette.

"I gotta go. Might try to talk to Rick." I said, getting up.

He nodded. "Okay. Guess I'll see ya round."

"Yeah," I said as I left.

* * *

I walked outside and Carol was talking with Axel. I smirked a bit and walked towards the fence.

I waved to the two and spotted Rick, talking to Hershel. Maybe me and the old man could get Rick inside. If nothing else, I'd help Hershel back. That was a long walk for him.

Suddenly, a loud gunshot rang out. I turned back and Carol was hiding under Axel's…dead body.

"Holy fucking shit!" I exclaimed silently.

Carl, Beth, and Jamie ran and hid behind some bleachers. Beth didn't have a gun, and neither did Carol. I had to run back inside and get the few guns we had.

Attempting to dodge bullets I ran, and almost made it inside when I tripped, or at least I thought I tripped. I looked down and saw the blood gushing from my calf.

The gunfire didn't stop and I vainly crawled towards the door. It flew open with Maggie and Armando running outside with guns.

Armando tossed a gun to Maggie and stopped to help me up.

"The son of a bitch shot me!" I screamed in anger.

"Clary you got to stay here. You're losing a lot of blood." My friend told me.

I took out my knife and cut my pants to see the wound.

"Is it through and through?" I asked. The gunfire outside was horrible.

"Yeah! Looks bad though!"

I found some medical gauze and wrapped the wounds up real good, then stood up and tested my weight.

The pain was something awful, but I could bear to stand.

"Give me a gun." I told him.

"Whoa, no you can't go out there." He told me.

I rolled my eyes through the pain and walked to my cell where my gun was.

I grabbed it up, checked the safety and clip. They were good and I went to leave the cellblock.

"You can't do that! Clary you could get killed!" Armando protested.

"Don't tell me that! My sister's out there fighting and you're in here worried about me. I'm going."

And with that I opened the door to outside and ran out.

* * *

When I got outside, I found a spot near a dumpster. Maggie was across from me.

I started shooting at every motherfucker I saw.

Then all went quiet. We could see the men down there, but they weren't firing at us.

A large truck came barreling down the road, going right through the fencing.

"What the hell is that?" I asked.

Maggie looked just as puzzled. "I dunno, but it looks bad!"

A ramp fell from the back of the truck and walkers came pouring out of it.

Shit, shit, shit! This wasn't good! Hershel and Rick were still down there!

The shoot out started up again. Maggie took out the assassin in the guard tower and the other men retreated.

"Maggie! Cover me!" I shouted, when I noticed the men that attacked us leaving. I was going to try and get to Michonne and Hershel. The old guy would be in trouble if any of them fuckers got close to him.

Glenn suddenly made his appearance in the truck he'd taken earlier. He wheeled around and got Hershel in it, heading towards us. Thank goodness.

Jamie and Carl opened the gate to let the truck in Maggie all but attached herself to her father.

"Clary, you're bleeding!" Beth called out to me. I noticed the gauze was covered in drying blood.

"Don't worry about it! Go check on Judith!" I exclaimed.

She did so while Carl attempted to open the gate to go help his dad.

"Carl no! There's too many walkers! We'll run out of ammo 'fore we kill all of them." I told him.

"Glenn! Get the truck back out there. Go get Rick now!"

He fired the truck up and went out to get our leader.

* * *

We all watched from the fence for a long while. Glenn got Rick and two other people inside the vehicle before driving back up.

I couldn't make out who the people were, but I knew they were men.

Jamie and Carl both opened the gate to let them through, and out popped Rick. He was sweaty and looked half crazed, but he was alive and didn't seem to be bit.

In the bed of the truck, two burly guys hopped out. The one guy looked at me. The pain in my leg became unbearable as I looked back at him.

I broke our stare and cried in agony. Maggie caught me so I wouldn't fall.

"Clary let's get you inside. Daddy will check that." She said, guiding me inside, but I could barely hear her.

All my mind would process was that…_Daryl…was back…_


End file.
